McDonald v Il Migliore Pty Ltd

In *McDonald v Il Migliore Pty Ltd*, the applicant, Ms. McDonald, sought to set aside a default judgment entered against her by the respondent, Il Migliore Pty Ltd, in the Magistrates Court of Victoria. The dispute arose from an alleged breach of a retail lease agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the default judgment should be set aside. This required the Court to consider whether Ms. McDonald had a "real prospect of success" on the merits of the defence she intended to raise, and whether it was in the interests of justice to set aside the judgment.

Judge Whelan found that Ms. McDonald had not demonstrated a real prospect of success in her defence. The Court noted that the grounds for setting aside a default judgment are not to be treated as a mere formality and that the applicant must show a defence that is not merely fanciful or vexatious. In this instance, the Court was not satisfied that Ms. McDonald had a defence with a real prospect of success, and therefore, it was not in the interests of justice to set aside the default judgment.

Consequently, the application to set aside the default judgment was dismissed.