QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited v Suncorp Metway Insurance Limited

In *QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited v Suncorp Metway Insurance Limited*, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered a dispute between two third-party motor insurers concerning the construction of an agreement for the sharing of claims. The core of the disagreement lay in whether a specific claim, arising from a motor vehicle collision, fell within the scope of a sharing provision in a deed executed by the parties.

The primary legal issue before the court was the interpretation of clause 4 of the deed dated 27 November 1990. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the circumstances of a claim or loss in respect of liability to John Veigel, arising from a collision near Bega on 11 February 2001, were encompassed by the provisions of that clause.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders made by Fullerton J. The court declared that the provisions of clause 4 of the deed did not extend to the claim or loss in question. The reasoning involved an analysis of the contractual language to ascertain the parties' intention regarding the scope of the sharing agreement, ultimately concluding that the specific circumstances of the Veigel claim were outside its ambit. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs.