Two of the respondents had merged their rugby league competitions, and subsequently were aiming to reduce the number of teams playing in the new competition. The teams’ licences were for a one year period and were renewable. In 1999 the appellant was informed that it was not one of the clubs that had met the selection criteria and would therefore be excluded from the competition the following year.
The appellant sought to restrain the respondents from excluding it, relying inter alia on breaches of contract. It argued that the respondents had breached implied terms of a contract, one of which required the respondents to act in good faith.
The judge found that there was no breach of contract, as the implied term of good faith and fair dealing did not restrict actions reasonably taken to promote the legitimate interests of a party. In doing so, itnoted, in rebuttal to a recent court finding (in Aiton Australia Pty Ltd v Transfield Pty Ltd) that there was uncertainty in defining the concept of ‘good faith and fair dealing’, that such “alleged uncertainty” had not prevented every legislature in Australia from enacting into domestic law Art. 7(1) of CISG.
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