Skyrise Consultants Pty Ltd v Metroland Funds Management Ltd

Skyrise Consultants Pty Ltd (appellant) appealed a decision concerning an alleged oral agreement that purportedly varied a subsequent written letter agreement with Metroland Funds Management Ltd (respondent). The appellant contended that an oral agreement was reached immediately before the parties entered into the written agreement, and that this oral agreement contradicted the terms of the written agreement.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether an earlier oral agreement could effectively vary a subsequent written agreement, and whether the agreement between the parties was partly oral and partly in writing.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the established legal principle that where parties intend a written agreement to be a complete and final expression of their intentions, it will generally be presumed to be so. The Court reasoned that the terms of the written agreement were clear and unambiguous, and there was no evidence to suggest that the parties intended the oral agreement to override or vary the written terms. Accordingly, the Court found that the written agreement represented the entirety of the contractual obligations between the parties.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.