Adams & Jillet

Adams & Jillet concerned a dispute between the parties over the proper construction of a deed of settlement. The matter came before Forrest J in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the deed of settlement, which purported to resolve all claims between the parties, effectively extinguished a claim for misleading and deceptive conduct that arose after the deed was executed.

Forrest J considered the principles of contractual interpretation, particularly in the context of deeds of settlement. His Honour applied the objective approach to contractual interpretation, seeking to ascertain the intention of the parties from the language they used in the deed. The Court found that the wording of the deed, which referred to "all claims, demands, actions, suits and proceedings whatsoever which now are or at any time hereafter might be made or sustained by or on behalf of [Adams] against [Jillet] arising out of or in relation to the [original agreement]", was sufficiently broad to encompass future claims. His Honour reasoned that the parties intended to achieve finality and that the language used reflected this intention, thereby extinguishing the subsequent claim.

The Court therefore held that the claim for misleading and deceptive conduct was barred by the deed of settlement.