Khattar v Khattar & Ors

KHATTAR
v
KHATTAR & ORS
[2023] HCASL 151
S86/2023

The applicant seeks special leave to appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Ward P, Meagher JA and Griffiths A‑JA) dismissing an appeal from orders of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Sackar J) giving judgment for the respondents in the form of damages for breach of a Deed of Agreement, plus interest pursuant to a Deed of Acknowledgement.
The construction of the Deeds by the primary judge and Court of Appeal is plainly correct and the application, accordingly, has insufficient prospects of success. On that basis, the issues sought to be raised in the appeal do not arise. The application also raises no question of public importance. Special leave should be refused.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application with costs.

M.M. Gordon J.M. Jagot

12 October 2023

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Khattar v Khattar & Ors involves a dispute over the interpretation and enforcement of two Deeds: a Deed of Agreement and a Deed of Acknowledgement. The applicant, seeking special leave to appeal, is dissatisfied with the outcome of a decision by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which upheld the orders of the Supreme Court granting damages to the respondents for breach of the Deed of Agreement. The applicant argues that the lower courts erred in their interpretation of the Deeds and seeks to challenge these findings on appeal to the High Court.

The legal issues before the court pertain to the proper interpretation of the Deed of Agreement and the Deed of Acknowledgement. The primary judge and the Court of Appeal had determined that the terms of the Deeds were clear and unambiguous, leading to the conclusion that the respondents were entitled to damages for breach. The applicant contests this interpretation, asserting that the Deeds should be construed differently and that the lower courts' construction led to an unjust outcome.

The court found that the construction of the Deeds by the primary judge and the Court of Appeal was correct and that the applicant's arguments lacked merit. The court emphasised that the lower courts had carefully considered the terms of the Deeds and had applied established principles of contract interpretation. Furthermore, the court noted that the applicant's proposed interpretation would lead to an unreasonable result and was not supported by the language of the Deeds. As a result, the application for special leave to appeal was dismissed, as it had insufficient prospects of success and did not raise any question of public importance.

In line with the High Court Rules, the court directed the Registrar to prepare an order dismissing the application with costs. The order, signed and sealed by the Registrar, formalises the dismissal of the applicant's special leave application, concluding that the lower courts' interpretation of the Deeds was correct and that the applicant's appeal did not merit further consideration.

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