Taleb v Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd

Taleb brought proceedings against Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd in relation to a dispute over the construction of a residential property. The defendant failed to respond to the claim and a default judgment was entered against them. Subsequently, Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd sought to set aside the default judgment on the basis that they had a bona fide defence to the claim. The case was heard in the Local Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue for the court was whether the defendant had established that they had a bona fide defence to the plaintiff's claim. The court considered whether Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd had provided satisfactory evidence to support their claim that they had a defence to the plaintiff's claim, and whether they had a reasonable excuse for failing to respond to the claim in time. The court also considered whether setting aside the default judgment would cause substantial injustice to the plaintiff.

The court found that Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd had not provided satisfactory evidence to support their claim that they had a defence to the plaintiff's claim. The court also found that Jadco Building Group Pty Ltd had not provided a reasonable excuse for failing to respond to the claim in time. The court held that setting aside the default judgment would cause substantial injustice to the plaintiff, as they had already suffered loss as a result of the defendant's failure to respond to the claim. The application to set aside the default judgment was therefore refused.

The court ordered that the application in the Notice of Motion filed on 17 June 2025 by the defendant is refused and the Notice of Motion is dismissed. The court also ordered that the defendant is to pay the costs of the plaintiff in relation to the Notice of Motion.