This position was supported by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in Stratton Finance Pty Ltd v Webb. However, the Western Australian Supreme Court has stated that Codelfa remains good law in Australia in Technomin Australia Pty Ltd v Xstrata Nickel Australia Operations.
What does it mean if a contract is ambiguous?
But usually, an ambiguous contract means that a specific term, word, phrase, or definition is vague or unclear. If a contract is ambiguous, it can sometimes be resolved by the parties through further discussions. If not, it may be necessary to have the document reviewed in court to have the issues resolved.
What is the ambiguity Gateway?
6 However, what is not clear from his Honour Justice Mason’s judgment is how those two admissibility purposes interact with the so-called `ambiguity gateway’, which in effect means that ambiguity is a gateway to the admission of extrinsic evidence.
What is contra Proferentem in contract law?
The contra proferentem principle essentially states that if there is any doubt about the meaning or scope of an exclusion clause, the ambiguity should be resolved against the party seeking to rely on the exclusion clause on the basis that parties are not lightly to be taken to have intended to cut down the remedies the …
What was the outcome of Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v stated Authority of New South Wales 1982 149 CLR 337 in High Court?
The traditional approach, following Mason J’s exposition in Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority of New South Wales (1982) 149 CLR 337, which his Honour described as the ‘true rule’, prevents extrinsic evidence being admitted to contradict what would otherwise be the plain meaning of a contractual …
What is the parol evidence rule Australia?
The parol evidence rule is a common law rule in contract that prevents a party to a written contract from presenting extrinsic evidence (usually oral) supplementary to a pre-existing written instrument.
What does ambiguous mean in law?
In the law of contracts, ambiguity means more than that the language has more than one meaning upon which reasonable persons could differ. When this occurs, the court will admit as evidence extraneous proof of prior or contemporaneous agreements to determine the meaning of the ambiguous language.
How do you determine if a contract is ambiguous?
An ambiguous answer “The true rule is that evidence of surrounding circumstances is admissible to assist in the interpretation of the contract if the language is ambiguous or susceptible of more than one meaning. But it is not admissible to contradict the language of the contract when it has a plain meaning.”
What is post contractual conduct?
Post-Contractual Conduct. 49. Take the case where two commercial parties have stipulated that payment must be made. “promptly”. There is evidence available to the effect that those parties have adopted a mutual.
What is meant by contra proferentem?
What Is the Contra Proferentem Rule? The contra proferentem rule is a legal doctrine in contract law which states that any clause considered to be ambiguous should be interpreted against the interests of the party that created, introduced, or requested that a clause be included.
Can you exclude contra proferentem rule?
The contra proferentem rule broadly states that where there is doubt about the meaning of a contract, the words will be construed against the party who put them forward.
