St George Football Association Inc v Soccer NSW Ltd

St George Football Association Inc brought an action against Soccer NSW Ltd, seeking damages for alleged breach of contract. The dispute centred around the interpretation of certain communications between the parties and whether these communications constituted an enforceable contract. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue the court had to resolve was whether a statement made by one party, expressing a subjective intention regarding the formation of a contract, could be considered relevant evidence when determining whether a contract had been made. The court needed to assess whether such an internal, uncommunicated intention could rationally affect the assessment of contract formation. The court also needed to determine the weight to be given to the uncommunicated intention in light of other communications and conduct between the parties.

The court found that the statement of subjective intention was not relevant as it did not communicate the party's intention to the other party and therefore could not rationally affect the assessment of contract formation. The court held that for a statement to be relevant, it must have the capacity to influence the assessment of the existence or terms of the contract. Since the intention was not communicated, it did not have this capacity. The court concluded that the subjective intention, in the absence of communication, could not be taken into account in determining whether a contract was made. The claim for damages was dismissed.

The court ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of the proceeding.