National Australia Bank Limited v Dionys as Trustee for the Angel Family Trust

The dispute in *National Australia Bank Limited v Dionys as Trustee for the Angel Family Trust* concerned the incorporation of a limitation of liability clause within the terms and conditions governing a bank account. The National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) appealed a decision concerning its liability to the Angel Family Trust (the Trust), represented by its trustee, Ms. Dionys. The appeal was heard by Macfarlan JA, Sackville AJA, and White J.

The central legal issues before the court were whether a clause in NAB's standard printed terms and conditions, which purported to limit the bank's liability, had been effectively incorporated into the contract between NAB and the Trust. This involved determining whether the contract was cancelled before the Trust received the printed terms and conditions, and if not, whether NAB had taken all reasonably necessary steps to bring the limiting clause to the Trust's attention. Additionally, the court considered whether the Trust had authorised a third party to withdraw funds from the account, and if not, whether the Trust had subsequently ratified those withdrawals. The court also addressed whether any denial of procedural fairness had occurred in allowing the Trust to dispute the signing of a withdrawal slip, and whether the primary judge had been justified in relying on a *Jones v Dunkel* inference against NAB.

The court's reasoning focused on the principles of contract formation and incorporation of terms. It was held that for a printed term to be incorporated into a contract, reasonable steps must be taken to bring it to the notice of the customer. The court examined the timing of the contract's formation relative to the provision of the terms and conditions, and the adequacy of NAB's efforts to ensure the Trust was aware of the limiting clause. The court also considered the principles of agency and ratification in relation to the withdrawals.

The appeal was dismissed, and NAB was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal.