MB & AR

The Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia considered an appeal concerning the interpretation of a settlement agreement. The dispute arose between MB and AR, who were parties to a Family Court of Western Australia proceeding. The core of the disagreement lay in the construction of certain clauses within a deed of settlement that had been executed by MB and AR.

The primary legal issue before the Full Court was to determine the correct interpretation of the settlement deed, specifically in relation to the obligations of the parties concerning certain assets. 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.

The Court applied established principles of contractual interpretation, emphasising that the meaning of a contract is to be determined by what the language used by the parties conveys, read as a whole. It considered the objective intention of the parties as evidenced by the words they chose. The Court found that the plain and ordinary meaning of the relevant clauses, when read in context, led to a particular construction of the parties' obligations. The appeal was dismissed, with the Court upholding the primary judge's interpretation of the settlement deed.