Glew v Greenough

Gummow and Heydon JJ of the High Court of Australia considered a dispute between the appellant, Glew, and the respondent, Greenough, concerning the interpretation and effect of a deed of settlement. The core of the disagreement revolved around whether the deed extinguished all claims that Glew might have had against Greenough, including those arising from a prior contract for the sale of land.

The High Court was required to determine whether the language of the deed of settlement was sufficiently comprehensive to release Greenough from all claims that Glew might have had against him, notwithstanding that some of those claims may not have been in contemplation at the time the deed was executed. Specifically, the court had to consider the principles of contractual interpretation as applied to deeds of settlement and the extent to which general words of release could encompass unknown or unquantified future claims.

Their Honours applied established principles of contractual interpretation, emphasising that the meaning of a contract is to be determined by what the parties agreed to, objectively ascertained from the language they used. They considered the context in which the deed was entered into and the ordinary meaning of the words employed. The court found that the deed contained clear and unambiguous language that operated to release Greenough from all claims, demands, and liabilities whatsoever, whether present or future, known or unknown, which Glew had or might have had against Greenough. This broad release was held to be effective in extinguishing Glew's subsequent claims arising from the earlier land sale contract.

The appeal was dismissed.