470 St Kilda Road Pty Ltd v Robinson

The case of 470 St Kilda Road Pty Ltd v Robinson involved a dispute over a directors' and officers' liability insurance policy. The central issue was whether an exclusion clause in the insurance policy applied to exclude coverage for an act or omission that was part of the rendering of professional services to a third party. Specifically, the question was whether the act of providing a statutory declaration in support of a progress claim was done in the rendering of professional services. The case also addressed an evidentiary issue concerning the admissibility of an expert report on the interpretation of contract clauses. The court was required to determine the meaning of certain terms in the insurance policy, such as "service", "profession", and "professional service", and whether the exclusion clause applied to the facts of the case.

The court's reasoning focused on the construction of the exclusion clause and the interpretation of the terms "service", "profession", and "professional service". The court found that the statutory declaration was not an act done in the rendering of professional services, but rather a final product arising from the detailed analyses and collations that underpinned it. The court held that the exclusion clause did not apply because the act of providing the statutory declaration was not part of the rendering of professional services. Additionally, the court ruled that the expert report was inadmissible because it intruded on the judicial function of the court by providing opinions on the construction of contract clauses. The court also allowed the tender of a bundle of documents under section 144(1)(b) of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth).

The final orders of the court determined that the statutory declaration was not an act or omission in the rendering of professional services, and thus the exclusion clause did not apply. The court also ordered the parties to file an agreed minute of order as to costs or, if they could not agree, to file and serve submissions as to costs.