Seems like it.
If he wins, will they pay for his airfare to the UK in order to fight this in person? After all, it is a cost to him in the process (or a punitive claim).
There's an irony in that last paragraph that's so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Of course, I have no idea what the system is over there (related to which court would you undertake this action, and the maximum penalty (monetary) that can be handed down by that court).
There is no such thing as a punitive claim
If claiming through the small claims track of the county court system, the claimant details what they believe the other party owes them . The defendant hsd the following options
(a) accept that the claim is valid and agree to pay .
(b) dispute the claim in part and respond on how much they believe that they owe and agree to pay. The plaintif then has to decide whether to accept this or not.
(c) dispute the claim entirely
(d) not respond at all
If (a) occurs then easy; just collect the money
If (d) occurs then easy, can ask court for a default judgement and collect the money
If (b) occurs and happy with their offer again easy
If the defendant denies all ( or part and not accepted ) then the case will be moved to the local county court of the defendant and a date scheduled. The case is almost always heard in chambers and is fairly informal; no need (or ability to claim for ) a solicitor/barrister. The plaintif will then need to attend and explain why he believes that the money is owed and the defendant can respond on why he doesnt agree. The judge will then decide on what he believes is owed if he sides with the plaintif and issue a judgement or the plaintif will lose
If the plaintif is unable to attend ( e.g. if travel costs are too high in relation to what is being claimed) , then it can proceed without the plaintif attending but the odds on winning are very much stacked against them since the defendant can respond to the claim quite easily and the claimant cannot very easily respond back
It can sometimes be decided on the paperwork only, but not come across that being done
As far as claiming interest as threatened by the poster, that cannot be claimed
It is not like an american movie; there is no jury or silly punitive damages or penalties etc; just a claim on what is believed to be owed which may get paid. Reasonable expenses can be requested if the case is won, but a claim for a flight from AU I think would be laughed at; could easily end up possibly winning the case but being financially worse off if flew over for it