Roughton v Pinjarra Crane and Access Hire Pty Ltd

The applicant, Roughton, sought to set aside a default judgment entered against him in favour of the respondent, Pinjarra Crane and Access Hire Pty Ltd, in the District Court of Western Australia. The dispute arose from an alleged debt owed by Roughton to Pinjarra Crane. Roughton claimed he had not been properly served with the originating process and therefore had no knowledge of the proceedings until after the default judgment was entered.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the default judgment should be set aside. This required the Court to consider the principles governing the setting aside of default judgments, particularly in circumstances where the applicant asserts a lack of proper service. The Court had to determine if Roughton had demonstrated a meritorious defence to the claim and whether it was just and equitable to set aside the judgment, taking into account any prejudice to the respondent.

In his reasoning, Antoni Lucev J applied the well-established principles for setting aside default judgments. His Honour noted that while a meritorious defence is a significant factor, it is not always determinative. The Court considered the evidence regarding service, including affidavits from both parties. His Honour found that Roughton had not established that service was irregular or invalid. Furthermore, Roughton failed to demonstrate a sufficiently arguable defence to the claim. Consequently, the Court concluded that it was not just and equitable to set aside the default judgment.

The application to set aside the default judgment was dismissed.