Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Ltd v GPT RE Ltd

The dispute in *Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Ltd v GPT RE Ltd* concerned the interpretation of the phrase "deal with" within a contract. The case was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, with Spigelman CJ, McColl JA, and Basten JA presiding.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the phrase "deal with" in the relevant contractual provision was confined solely to acts of alienation, such as sale or disposal, or if it encompassed a broader range of actions. This required the Court to consider the principles of contractual interpretation, particularly the *copulatio verborum* principle.

The Court applied the *copulatio verborum* principle, which suggests that where a general word follows a list of specific words of the same class, the general word should be construed in a way that is limited by the specific words. However, the Court found that the context of the agreement did not support a narrow interpretation of "deal with" as being limited to alienation. Instead, it was held that the phrase was intended to have a wider meaning, encompassing actions beyond mere disposal.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.