YASHAL & YASHAL

In *Yashal & Yashal*, the applicant sought to set aside a default judgment entered against them in favour of the respondent. The dispute concerned an alleged breach of a loan agreement. The matter came before Cronin J of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had established sufficient grounds to set aside the default judgment. This required the Court to consider whether the applicant had a meritorious defence to the respondent's claim and whether they had provided a satisfactory explanation for the delay in filing their defence, thereby demonstrating an intention to defend the proceedings.

Cronin J applied the principles governing the setting aside of default judgments, which require a two-pronged approach. Firstly, the applicant must show a defence on the merits. Secondly, the applicant must show that it is just and reasonable to set aside the judgment, often involving an explanation for the failure to appear or file a defence. In this instance, the Court found that the applicant had failed to satisfy both limbs of the test. The explanation for the delay was deemed insufficient, and the proposed defence was not considered to have sufficient merit to warrant setting aside the judgment.

Consequently, the Court dismissed the application to set aside the default judgment.