Kness & Kness

In the matter of *Kness & Kness*, Kay J of the Supreme Court of Tasmania considered a dispute concerning the interpretation of a deed of settlement and its impact on the parties' respective entitlements to a property. The central issue revolved around whether the deed, which purported to resolve all claims between the parties, effectively extinguished a prior agreement that granted one party a beneficial interest in the property.

The court was required to determine the proper construction of the deed of settlement, specifically whether its terms were sufficiently comprehensive to encompass and override the prior beneficial interest agreement. This involved an analysis of the language used in the deed and the intention of the parties at the time of its execution, in light of established principles of contractual interpretation.

Kay J applied the objective approach to contractual interpretation, seeking to ascertain the meaning of the deed by reference to the ordinary meaning of its words in their context. The court found that the broad and unqualified language used in the deed, which stated that it settled "all claims, disputes and differences" between the parties, was intended to be exhaustive. Consequently, the prior agreement granting the beneficial interest was held to have been extinguished by the deed of settlement. The court ordered that the property was to be held by the parties in accordance with the terms of the deed.