RT Co Pty Ltd v Minister for the Interior

In this matter before the High Court, the applicants, R. T. Company Proprietary Limited and three other defendants, sought to set aside a default judgment entered against them. The original claim arose from the defendants' continued occupation of land compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth, with the Minister for the Interior as the respondent. The plaintiff's claim was framed in the alternative against each of the four defendants.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the default judgment, which was entered against all defendants jointly, was irregular given that the original claim had been made in the alternative. The Court was also required to consider the impact of the defendants' delay in applying to set aside the judgment and their subsequent reliance on its existence in other proceedings.

Dixon C.J. held that the judgment was irregular because it imposed joint liability on the defendants, whereas the claim had been made against them in the alternative. The Court distinguished the present case from *Currie v. May*, noting that the latter involved alternative claims against a single defendant, not alternative claims against multiple defendants. Despite the delay and the defendants' prior reliance on the judgment, the Court determined that an irregular judgment should not remain on the record.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the default judgment of 10th September 1956 be set aside as irregular. This was conditional upon the defendants paying the plaintiff's taxed costs incurred after the judgment, excluding the costs of the summons. The plaintiff was granted liberty to amend the statement of claim, and the defendants were required to file their defence within seven days of the delivery of the amended statement of claim.