Force majeure and frustration in 2026: the contracts written for the last crisis
The instinct to draft detailed force majeure clauses may be leaving parties with fewer remedies when contracts are tested by new forms of disruption.
When is a contract binding? Court of Appeal analyses lease negotiations
A court will consider whether communications between the parties, objectively construed, indicate an intention to be immediately bound by an arrangement between them. By PAUL…
Binding promise without a contract: Court of Appeal considers proprietary estoppel
The NSW Court of Appeal has found that a proprietary estoppel may arise in certain cases where a plaintiff seeks to exercise only personal or…
Executive employment claims: a contractual perspective
Contractual principles of incorporation sit uneasily with many employment benefits. Instead, there is an increasing openness on the part of the courts to imply a…
When changes to the law affect rights under contract
The High Court confirms that the purpose of a contract and context in which it was reached are highly relevant to contractual interpretation. By PAUL…
The scope of releases: a case study
Settlement agreements are a familiar form of document routinely used by lawyers to enable clients to resolve disputes. By PAUL MARTIN.
Expert determinations under contract reviewable even if ’final’
Parties to a contract will need to ensure that an expert properly understands his or her functions under contract when performing a review and making…