Complex contractual disputes involving partly written and partly oral agreements, where the scope and content of the agreement is uncertain, are generally unsuitable for summary determination on affidavit evidence. A restitutionary quantum meruit claim is not precluded merely because the parties acknowledged mutual benefits or described their arrangements as 'cost neutral'; the term is ambiguous and does not necessarily mean one party agreed not to charge the other. Where a party's characterisation of the contractual relationship shifts across proceedings, this undermines the cogency of its case that the relationship is clear enough to defeat an arguable defence.
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