Perera vs National Development Bank – sllr 2008 volume 2 page 296

In the case between Perera (plaintiff) and National Development Bank (2nd defendant), the court examined whether vacating an order nisi due to purging default entitles a defendant to bypass the statutory requirement of obtaining leave to appear and defend under Section 7 of the Debt Recovery Act No. 2 of 1990. The sequence of proceedings involved the entry of an order nisi against all defendants, which was made absolute following the 2nd defendant’s non-appearance, and then vacated by consent owing to improper service on the 2nd defendant. Upon being granted an opportunity to show cause, the 2nd defendant sought leave to defend without fulfilling statutory prerequisites. The findings established that purging default nullifies the absolute order only, without conferring additional rights to