St George Bank v Hammer (No 3) [2016] NSWSC 128

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: St George Bank v Hammer (No 3) [2016] NSWSC 128 Hearing dates: 26 November 2015 Decision date: 26 February 2016 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Button J Decision: (1) The notice of motion of the defendant of 26 November 2015 is dismissed. (2) The defendant must pay the costs of the plaintiff of the proceedings before me. Catchwords: CIVIL – application to set aside default judgment – construction and interpretation of Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 – whether lack of courtesy in litigation justifies the setting aside of a default judgment – whether principles about vitiation of assignment apply – unconscionability – whether the entry of default judgment constitutes a denial of natural justice – whether the presence of tenants prohibits a mortgagee taking possession of a property Legislation Cited: Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 (Cth) Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW) Financial Sector (Business Transfer and Group Restructure) Act 1999 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 16.2, 16.2(1)(c), 16.2(2)(c), 16.3, 16.3(1A)(a), 16.3(1A)(b) National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth), Sch 1 Real Property Act 1900 (NSW) Cases Cited: Equuscorp Pty Ltd v Haxton [2012] HCA 7; 246 CLR 498 HomeSec Finance Express Pty Ltd v Richardson [2012] NSWSC 1375 Ling v Pan Pac Investment Pty Limited; Ling v Wu [2015] NSWSC 850 Magnate Projects Pty Ltd v Youma Constructions (No 2) Pty Ltd [2005] NSWCA 331 St George Bank v Hammer (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 953 Category: Principal judgment Parties: St George Bank – A Division of Westpac Banking Corporation (Plaintiff/Respondent) Michael Jon Hammer (Defendant/Applicant) Representation: Counsel: L Gor (Plaintiff/Respondent) P E King (Defendant/Applicant)