Dismissal of Inactive Cases pursuant to Rule 44G

Can a matter which has been dismissed for want of prosecution be revived?

The Court of Appeal will shortly consider an appeal against a recent decision of Commissioner Gething in the District Court at Perth, in which he upheld the dismissal of the plaintiff's claim which had been on the inactive cases list for over 6 months.

Since 1 July 2011, if no document is filed in a District Court action for 12 months, the case is deemed inactive and placed on the Inactive Cases List. Rule 44 of the District Court Rules 2005 (WA) (DCR) provides that once a case has been on that list for 6 continuous months, it is automatically taken to have been dismissed for want of prosecution.

Ruby v Doric Group Holdings Pty Ltd [2012] WADC 58