Retravision (WA) Ltd v Starrs

Retravision (WA) Ltd brought an action against Starrs for debt. Starrs did not respond to the claim, and a default judgment was entered. Starrs then applied to set aside the default judgment. The application was heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The primary legal issue for the court to determine was whether there were any circumstances that would justify setting aside the default judgment. Starrs argued that the guarantees were signed under duress and that there was some form of misleading or deceptive conduct by Retravision that might give rise to an estoppel or a claim under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). The court was required to assess these arguments to determine if they constituted a defence on the merits.

The court found that Starrs' arguments lacked sufficient evidence to support a defence. The court noted that the guarantees were not signed under duress as there was no applied pressure that went beyond what the law considered legitimate. Furthermore, there was no evidence of misleading or deceptive conduct by Retravision that could give rise to an estoppel or a claim under the Trade Practices Act. The court concluded that Starrs did not have a defence on the merits and that there was no point in setting aside the default judgment.

Accordingly, the court dismissed Starrs' application to set aside the default judgment and ordered Starrs to pay Retravision's costs.