Leyland Shipping Ltd v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Ltd [1918] AC 350
Citation:Leyland Shipping Ltd v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Ltd [1918] AC 350
Rule of thumb:Does the intention behind a contractual term matter or is the wording everything? Yes, it is important for the Court to be aware of what the intention of the term was before interpreting its meaning.
Judgment:
In order to ascertain whether someone has a basic argument for the Court to hear over potentially being covered by an insurance, at first, it is important not to look in too much detail regarding – the Court has to look at the overall intention of the parties and ascertain basically what has happened, as well as what the type of insurance policy was, and decide if there is a basic prima facie case to be investigated in greater detail as per the terms of the policy with the case proceeding to a full hearing. If there is not the basic type of insurance policy to cover the nature of the loss then the case has to be dismissed as irrelevant at the procedural hearing and not proceed to a full trial.
Ratio-decidendi:
‘the true and the overruling principle is to look at a contract as a whole and to ascertain what the parties to it really meant’, Lord Shaw of Dunfermline 369
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.