Excluding liability for negligence and the contra proferentem rule


In Persimmon Homes Ltd v Ove Arup & Partners Ltd [2017] EWCA 373 the Court of Appeal held that a clause which provided that ‘liability for any claim in relation to asbestos is excluded’ was effective to exclude liability for all claims brought by the claimants in relation to the discovery of asbestos, including those claims in which it was alleged that the defendants had been negligent in failing to detect asbestos. In reaching this conclusion the Court of Appeal held that there was no room for the application of the contra proferentem rule given that the meaning of the term was clear. It was also held that the guidelines enunciated by the Privy Council in Canada Steamship Lines Ltd v The King [1952] AC 192 were of ‘limited assistance’ when deciding whether or not the term was effective to exclude liability for negligence.