ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the approach of the courts to mapping the precise rights and obligations of the parties. The approach of the courts to determining the meaning of an express term of a contract has been modified. The contract concerned a housing and commercial development on land owned by the claimants. The contents of the contract may be subject to statutory control, in that terms may be implied and exclusion of such terms may be prohibited by statute. The fact that the defendant is in a better position to be able to guarantee the truth of a statement will lend weight to its being regarded as part of the contract. The collateral contract is a very flexible device. Its disadvantage, compared to the action for misrepresentation, is that it will only provide a remedy in damages, and will not allow the claimant the possibility of rescinding the main contract.
