O 18 r 6(2) of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1971 (WA) permits the substitution of a legal assignee as plaintiff in proceedings commenced by the assignor, even though the assignee had no cause of action when the proceedings were commenced; it is sufficient that the assignee has since obtained the legal right to the debt. Elliott v Williams (1996) 15 SR (WA) 336, which held O 18 r 6 was limited to joinder and did not extend to substitution, is no longer good law. On a substitution application, the court should not conduct a detailed merits inquiry but may refuse substitution if it is obvious the proposed substitute has no claim.
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