Mansour v Jiang

In the matter of *Mansour v Jiang*, heard in the District Court of New South Wales, the dispute concerned an application to set aside a default judgment. The applicant, Mr Mansour, sought to have a default judgment entered against him in favour of the respondent, Ms Jiang, vacated. The judgment had been entered following Mr Mansour's failure to file a defence within the prescribed time.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Mansour had established sufficient grounds to justify setting aside the default judgment. This required the Court to consider whether Mr Mansour had a meritorious defence to Ms Jiang's claim and whether he had provided a satisfactory explanation for his failure to file the defence in a timely manner. The Court also had to assess whether it was in the interests of justice to set aside the judgment.

Judge Manousaridis reasoned that for a default judgment to be set aside, the applicant must demonstrate both a defence on the merits and an acceptable reason for the delay. While Mr Mansour did present an arguable defence, the Court found his explanation for the delay in filing the defence to be unsatisfactory. The Court noted that Mr Mansour had been aware of the proceedings and had not acted with due diligence in seeking legal advice or filing his defence. Consequently, the Court concluded that it was not in the interests of justice to set aside the default judgment.

The application to set aside the default judgment was dismissed.