COGHLAN & COGHLAN (No.2)

In *Coghlan & Coghlan (No.2)*, B Smith J of the Supreme Court of Western Australia considered a dispute between the parties concerning the proper construction of a deed of settlement. The core of the disagreement revolved around the interpretation of certain clauses within the deed, which had been entered into to resolve prior litigation.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the true meaning and effect of the settlement deed, specifically in relation to the obligations of the parties thereunder. This involved an analysis of the language used in the deed and the surrounding circumstances at the time of its execution to ascertain the parties' intentions.

B Smith J applied established principles of contractual interpretation, emphasizing that the court must ascertain the objective intention of the parties by reference to the language of the deed itself, read as a whole. Where ambiguity exists, the court may have regard to extrinsic evidence to assist in understanding the commercial context and the parties' shared understanding. The court's analysis focused on the specific wording of the relevant clauses and how they operated in conjunction with other provisions of the deed to define the parties' respective rights and responsibilities.