Rockcote Enterprises Pty Ltd v FS Architects Pty Ltd (No 2)

Rockcote Enterprises Pty Ltd (Rockcote) sought to vary or set aside a judgment entered against it in favour of FS Architects Pty Ltd (FS Architects) in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the entry of judgment and orders under rule 36.11 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) and the court's power to vary or set aside such judgments or orders, particularly under rule 36.16(3A) of the UCPR.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the court had the power to vary or set aside the entered judgment, and if so, whether it should exercise that power in favour of Rockcote. This involved considering the general law principles governing the variation or setting aside of judgments and the specific statutory authority provided by rule 36.16(3A) of the UCPR, including any applicable time limits. Additionally, the court was required to consider matters relating to costs, including the impact of the late provision of a defence, whether proposing a known-to-be-wrong issue could be taken into account, and the effect of a Calderbank offer made on an inclusive of costs basis on the potential for an indemnity costs order.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Rockcote's Notice of Motion. The court's reasoning, though not detailed in the provided text, would have involved an assessment of whether Rockcote had met the threshold for varying or setting aside the entered judgment under the relevant rules and general law principles. The court also considered the costs of the proceedings, ultimately ordering that Rockcote pay the costs of FS Architects, with a specific proviso that the costs recoverable by Rockcote would not include costs attributable to its application for a more favourable costs order.