Sandery v Kowalski

The Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia heard an appeal concerning an application to set aside a default judgment. The appellant, Sandery, sought to appeal the Master's refusal to set aside a default judgment entered against them in favour of the respondent, Kowalski.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the Master erred in refusing to set aside the default judgment. This required the Court to consider the principles governing applications to set aside default judgments, particularly in circumstances where the applicant seeks to defend the claim.

The Court applied the well-established principles for setting aside a default judgment, which generally require the applicant to demonstrate either that they have a meritorious defence to the claim or that there has been a miscarriage of justice. In this instance, the Court found that the appellant had not sufficiently demonstrated a meritorious defence. The Court also considered the appellant's explanation for the delay in filing their defence and the overall conduct of the proceedings. The Court reiterated that a party seeking to set aside a default judgment must act promptly and provide a satisfactory explanation for any delay.

The appeal was dismissed, and the Master's order refusing to set aside the default judgment was affirmed.