United Rural Enterprises Pty Limited & Ors v Lopmand Pty Limited & Anor [2004] NSWCA 440

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : United Rural Enterprises Pty Limited & Ors v Lopmand Pty Limited & Anor [2004] NSWCA 440 HEARING DATE(S) : 13 October 2004 JUDGMENT DATE : 26 November 2004

JUDGMENT OF : Sheller JA at 1; Santow JA at 2; Tobias JA at 49 DECISION : Appeal dismissed with costs.

CATCHWORDS : CONTRACT - interpretation - incorporated property joint venture - challenge to the construction placed upon terms of settlement of a dispute between two of three individuals who conducted certain real estate development projects - was there interpretation ambiguity in the contract justifying resort to extrinsic evidence - extrinsic evidence inadmissible but in any event itself not supporting contrary interpretation. Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority of New South Wales (1982) 149 CLR 337 CASES CITED : Investor's Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society (1998) 1 WLR 896 Maggbury Pty Limited v Hafele Australia Pty Limited (2001) 210 CLR 181 UNITED RURAL ENTERPRISES PTY LIMITED (ACN 064 425 785) (First Appellant) Gregory Hamilton Willoughby LINDSAY-OWEN (Second Appellant) PARTIES : LINDSAY-OWEN HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED (ACN 078 492 994) (Third Appellant) PAINTEN HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED (ACN 003 206 111) (Fourth Appellant) LOPMAND PTY LIMITED (ACN 002 494 662) (First Respondent) Tracey John LAKE (Second Respondent) FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40235/03 COUNSEL : M CASHION, SC/ J M WHITE (Appellants) B DeBUSE (Respondents) SOLICITORS : Kemp Strang (Appellants) McCooe Raves & Poole (Respondents)