Chen v Xie & Others [2020] NSWSC 1908

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Chen v Xie & Others [2020] NSWSC 1908 Hearing dates: 20 July 2020 Date of orders: 23 December 2020 Decision date: 23 December 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Campbell J Decision: (1) Under rule 14.28(1) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) strike out paragraphs 10 to 18 of the Defence filed on 25 April 2020; (2) Summary judgment for the plaintiff in the sum of $1,500,000 on his action in debt against the first defendant including interest up to and including 18 December 2019; (3) Liberty to apply in respect of interest after 18 December 2019 under s 100 Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW); (4) The first defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceedings for summary judgment; (5) List the matter before the Registrar for further directions concerning the claim for possession at 9 a.m. on 4 February 2020. Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – summary disposal – where defendant claims set-off – whether defendant can claim set-off in circumstances where the making of the contract founding the set-off is prohibited by statute – where contract is unlawful wager - where contract concerned the plaintiff borrowing money for the express purpose of gambling – where operation of Unlawful Gambling Act prohibits defendant from recovering winnings – where no question of unjust enrichment arises – judgment for plaintiff CIVIL PROCEDURE – pleadings – striking out – where no reasonable defence disclosed Legislation Cited: Building Licensing Act 1971 (NSW) (Repealed) s 45 Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW) ss 4, 70, 74, 76 Casino Control Regulation 2009 (NSW) Casino Control Regulation 2019 (NSW) Defence Services Homes Act 1918 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 13.1 Unlawful Gambling Act 1998 (NSW) ss 4, 5,7, 14, 56 Cases Cited: Deposit & Investment Co. Limited v Kaye (1962) 63 SR (NSW) 453 General Steel Industries Inc v Commissioner for Railways (1964) 112 CLR 125; [1964] HCA 69 Holman v Johnson [1977]1 Cowp 341; 98 ER 1120 Menzies v Australian Iron and Steel Limited (1952) SR (NSW) 62 Nelson v Nelson (1995) 184 CLR 538; [1995] HCA 25 O'Brien v Bank of Western Australia Ltd [2013] NSWCA 71 Pavey and Matthews Pty Ltd v Paul (1987) 162 CLR 221; [1987] HCA 5 Santos v Stephenson [2020] NSWSC 90 Wickstead & Ors v Brown (1992) 30 NSWLR 1 Yango Pastoral Company Pty Ltd v First Chicago Australia Limited (1978) 139 CLR 410; [1978] HCA 42 Texts Cited: Not applicable Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Wenxin Chen (Plaintiff) Xiogming Xie (First Defendant) Minghui International Pty Ltd (Second Defendant) Westpac Banking Corporation (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: A. Cheshire SC (Plaintiff) M. Pringle (Defendant)