PJ Scahill & Associates Pty Ltd v Mertes

The matter of PJ Scahill & Associates Pty Ltd v Mertes was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The respondent, Mertes, sought to set aside a default judgment that had been entered against them in another proceeding. The primary judge, Justice Hulme, dismissed the application on the basis that no arguable defence had been presented.

The legal issue before the court was whether the application to set aside the default judgment was made in the correct proceeding and whether the respondent had raised an arguable defence. The respondent argued that the application should be considered in the proceeding where the default judgment was entered. However, the court determined that the application was appropriately treated as being made in the original proceedings. Furthermore, the court found that the respondent had not presented any arguable defence to the default judgment, which was a requirement for setting it aside.

Justice Hulme dismissed the application to set aside the default judgment, concluding that it was correctly treated as made in the original proceeding and that no arguable defence had been raised by the respondent. The court's decision underscores the importance of raising a valid defence in a timely manner and the procedural requirements for setting aside a default judgment. The final orders of the court were that the application be dismissed with costs.