17 Aug 2018
L&M COAL HOLDINGS LTD v BATHURST RESOURCES LTD [2018] NZHC 2127
- Citation
- [2018] NZHC 2127
- Court
- High Court
Court held the ordinary/contextual meaning of 'shipped' in clause 3.4 is 'transported'; more than 25,000 tonnes had been transported and the first performance payment therefore fell due. Clause 3.10 did not entitle Bathurst to treat non-payment as non-actionable in circumstances where it ceased substantive production and paid only nominal royalties; alternatively, if clause 3.10 were read otherwise, the Court would imply a term restricting reliance on clause 3.10 to periods when royalties continue to be paid on substantive on-going production. Result: declaration and order for Bathurst to pay…
- Contract interpretation
- Implied terms
- Performance payments and royalties
- Exercise of contractual discretions and proper purpose
- Admissibility of pre-contractual negotiations
- Remedies – declaration and payment order