The Owners - Strata Plan No 93543 v Zhang (No 4)

The case involved a dispute between The Owners of Strata Plan No 93543 and Ms Zhang. The Owners sought to enforce a default judgment that was entered against Ms Zhang. Ms Zhang argued that the judgment should be set aside or that time be extended to enable her to comply with it. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it had the power to extend the time for Ms Zhang to comply with the self-executing order when she had failed to do so within the specified period. Ms Zhang’s solicitor had made an error, leading to the non-compliance. The Court also needed to consider whether there was ongoing prejudice to the Owners if the time for compliance was extended and whether the defendant's solicitor should be subject to a personal costs order.

The Court found that the error made by Ms Zhang’s solicitor did not excuse non-compliance with the self-executing order. However, the Court also noted that there was no ongoing prejudice to the Owners if the time for compliance was extended. Given that Ms Zhang’s solicitor accepted responsibility for the error and submitted to a personal costs order, the Court decided to extend the time for compliance. This decision was made in the interests of justice, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

The Court ordered that the time for Ms Zhang to comply with the self-executing order be extended to a specified date. Additionally, the Court ordered that Ms Zhang’s solicitor pay the Owners’ costs of the application on an indemnity basis.