Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd v FaragMenzies Aviation Group (Ground Services) Australia Pty Ltd v Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd

The case involved Thai Airways International Public Company Ltd and Farag Menzies Aviation Group (Ground Services) Australia Pty Ltd, with the latter being the applicant for leave to appeal. The dispute concerned whether the imposition of a time limit for the execution of settlement documents constituted a repudiation of an agreement to settle legal proceedings. The matter was heard by Bathurst CJ, Allsop P, and Tobias AJA.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine whether a party's insistence on a time limit for the execution of settlement documents, after an agreement to settle had been reached, amounted to a repudiation of that settlement agreement. The court was also required to consider its power under section 73 of the *Civil Procedure Act 2005* (NSW) to make consequential orders concerning disputes arising from settlement agreements.

The court reasoned that the imposition of a time limit for the execution of settlement documents, in the absence of any prior agreement on such a deadline, could indeed constitute a repudiation of the settlement agreement. This was because such a demand, if unreasonable or unilaterally imposed, could be seen as an indication that the party was unwilling to be bound by the terms of the settlement as agreed. The court applied general contractual principles concerning repudiation, focusing on whether the conduct of the party evinced an intention no longer to be bound by the contract.

The court allowed the appeal and made orders for the parties to execute a Deed of Release within 28 days in a specified form. It further ordered the first respondent to file a Notice of Discontinuance of District Court proceedings within 7 days of the execution of the Deed of Release. The first respondent was also ordered to pay the costs of the appellants and the second respondent in the court below, incurred after 9 May 2010, as well as the costs of the application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself. A certificate under the *Suitors' Fund Act 1951* was granted to the first respondent in respect of the costs of the appeal, if otherwise qualified.