Following Woodside, the contextual approach to construction of commercial contracts is endorsed and required in NSW; ambiguity is not a precondition to resort to surrounding circumstances, and Western Export Services v Jireh International should not be followed on this point. Global claims for delay and disruption in building contracts are governed by ordinary principles of contract law with no special rules; where there is a significant cause of loss not attributable to the defendant, a global claim will fail, and any apportionment must have an evidentiary basis. The Scottish approach in Laing Management permitting judicial apportionment without evidentiary basis is disapproved.
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