Key Facts:
Arbutus Capital Leasing Ltd. (Plaintiff) leased equipment to 1265644 B.C. Ltd., Stonegate Resorts Ltd., Ralph Anthony Stapleton, Peter Geoffrey Sherba, and Zhao Shanyi (Defendants) under a 36-month lease agreement signed in November 2022. The defendants stopped paying in May 2023, alleging the equipment was defective. Arbutus Capital claimed a breach of contract and obtained a default judgment against the defendants.

Legal Issues:
Defendant Zhao Shanyi applied to set aside the default judgment, arguing he was not properly served with the Notice of Civil Claim (NOCC). The plaintiff claimed Zhao had been served in October 2023, while Zhao maintained that it was his friend who may have been served. Zhao sought to file a response to the claim and argued the contract was either breached by the plaintiff or was frustrated due to defective equipment.

Court’s Decision:
The court found Zhao was not properly served and allowed him to set aside the default judgment. Zhao was granted leave to file a defense based on a potential breach of contract or frustration argument.

Costs and Award:
The court ordered that the costs of the application would be in the cause, meaning the issue of costs would be determined at a later stage based on the outcome of the case.