Mills Oakley (Partnership) v Asset HQ Australia Pty Ltd

Mills Oakley, a partnership, brought an action against Asset HQ Australia Pty Ltd in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The claim was for copyright infringement and passing off, arising from the alleged use of the partnership’s intellectual property without permission. The defendant did not respond to the claim, leading to the plaintiff obtaining a default judgment. Subsequently, Asset HQ sought to set aside the default judgment, arguing that there were grounds for doing so, despite the delay in making the application.

The court considered whether the defendant had established sufficient cause to set aside the default judgment, particularly given the significant delay in lodging the application. The court needed to assess whether there were any exceptional circumstances that justified the delay and whether it was in the interests of justice to set aside the judgment. The court also examined whether the defendant had a bona fide defence that was likely to succeed at trial.

The court found that the defendant had not shown sufficient cause for the delay in seeking to set aside the default judgment. The delay was extensive, and there was no evidence to suggest that the delay was caused by any exceptional circumstances. The court concluded that the defendant's application to set aside the judgment was not in the interests of justice. The court set aside the default judgment and directed the defendant to file a defence within fourteen days, with the matter to be heard for costs at a later date.