Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
New South Wales
Medium Neutral Citation: Menzies v Paccar Financial Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 197 Hearing dates: 20 August 2018 Date of orders: 20 August 2018 Decision date: 20 August 2018 Before: Sackville AJA Decision: See paragraph [2]
Catchwords: JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS – no issue of principle Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Colleen Anne Menzies (First Appellant)
Ian David Menzies (Second Appellant)
Paccar Financial Pty Ltd (Submitting appearance)
Crown Advocate (Amicus Curiae)Representation: Counsel:
Solicitors:
In person (First and Second Appellants)
Mr D Kell SC / Ms E Jones (Amicus Curiae)
Mr P Doyle Gray (Amicus Curiae)
Self-represented (First and Second Appellants)
New South Wales Crown Solicitor (Amicus Curiae)
File Number(s): 2016/268790 Decision under appeal
- Court or tribunal:
- Supreme Court of New South Wales
- Jurisdiction:
- Common Law
- Citation:
- [2015] NSWSC 1622
- Date of Decision:
- 6 September 2016
- Before:
- Rothman J
- File Number(s):
- 2010/377702; 2015/171519; 2015/171520
EX TEMPORE Judgment
-
SACKVILLE AJA: I do not think that a basis has been established for me to remove myself from this matter. I understand the way you feel, both about me and about the other judges that have previously participated in the case. The fact that the particular case that I was involved in dismissed an appeal that you and your wife brought, does not establish that there is apprehended bias in the relevant sense for the purpose of my participation in the determination of this application. The question that I have to address is whether I can bring and be seen to bring an unprejudiced and unbiased mind to the issues that arise on this application. In my view, there is no impediment to my doing that on the basis of the contentions you have advanced. So for those reasons, I decline to recuse myself.
-
What you do in terms of conducting this case is of course a matter for you and, separately, for your wife to determine. I cannot, as a matter of duty, recuse myself because of a threat by litigants to remove themselves from the proceedings if I do not. For those reasons, I decline to recuse myself.
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- AGLC
- Menzies v Paccar Financial Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 197
- Case
- [2018] NSWCA 197
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the County Court judge erred in refusing to set aside the default judgment. This involved considering whether Mr. Menzies had demonstrated a sufficient defence to the claim brought by Paccar Financial Pty Ltd, and whether there was a good reason for his failure to file a defence within the prescribed time.
Sackville AJA found that Mr. Menzies had not established a sufficiently arguable defence to the claim. The Court noted that the grounds of defence relied upon by Mr. Menzies were vague and unsubstantiated. Furthermore, the explanation provided for the delay in filing the defence was considered inadequate. The Court applied the principles governing applications to set aside default judgments, which require a defendant to show both a defence on the merits and a reasonable explanation for the delay.
Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the orders of the County Court were affirmed.
Orders
Orders of the court
See paragraph [2]
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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