Inactive but not Dead: A Plaintiff’s Entitlement to enter a Case for Trial after it is placed on the Inactive List

The District Court of Western Australia recently held in Strzelecki Holdings Pty Ltd v Wiebel [2013] WADC 27 (Strzelecki) that the plaintiff may file an entry for trial even when the case is on the court's inactive list. The court also held that once an entry for trial is filed, the matter is deemed to be taken off the inactive case list, even if the entry is later countermanded (revoked).

In Strzelecki, the plaintiff submitted an entry for trial on the last permissible day, failing which the matter would have been dismissed for want of prosecution. The defendant argued that doing so was not permissible as the District Court Rules, namely rule 38, do not allow a plaintiff to enter a matter for trial once the case is on the inactive list.