[:en]In 9264-3212 Québec inc. v. Moseka, 2018 QCCS 5286, Madam Justice Johanne Brodeur granted judicial review of an arbitral award because it was not executory. Despite applying a deferential standard of reasonable, Brodeur J. sent the parties back to arbitration because the specialized decision maker had omitted to articulate the industry standard he determined was breached and did not explain what result the party had to meet in order to comply with his order. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – award voided for providing insufficient reasoning and imposing unintelligible order – #152[:]”
[:en]Québec – arbitration not appropriate to conduct business or resolve daily business disagreements – #146[:]
[:en]In Naimer v. Naimer, 2018 QCCS 5210, Mr. Justice Stephen W. Hamilton rejected a post-trial solution by some of the litigants to impose arbitration as a way to avoid future deadlock in the operation of the litigants’ business. Though proposed in answer to his invitation to provide a lasting solution once the safeguard orders expired after the trial decision issued, Hamilton J. readily held that arbitration was not appropriate to resolve conflicts regarding day-to-day business decisions. The lack of any basis for arbitrators to decide on business initiatives, the non-arbitrable nature of business decisions and the anticipated delay in instituting arbitration for each disputed business decision lead Hamilton J. to dismiss the proposal. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – arbitration not appropriate to conduct business or resolve daily business disagreements – #146[:]”
[:en]Québec – industry association’s arbitration bylaw binds only members, allows litigation against non-members – #139[:]
[:en]In Hypotheca Courtier hypothécaire SSM Inc. v. Re/Max Imagine Inc., 2018 QCCQ 7956, Mr. Justice J. Sébastien Vaillancourt of the Court of Québec summarily dismissed a defendant’s objection to his jurisdiction, holding that the clear wording of an arbitration bylaw adopted by the Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (the “Federation”) bound only its members. Members were still free to initiate court proceedings against non-members for disputes otherwise covered by the arbitration procedure. The detailed arbitration procedure also stated that any decisions issuing from the arbitration procedure were not to serve as precedents. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – industry association’s arbitration bylaw binds only members, allows litigation against non-members – #139[:]”
[:en]Québec – court dismisses rare challenge by successful arbitral party and challenge based on arbitral precedent – #137[:]
[:en]In PriceWaterhouseCoopers Inc. v. Chamberland, 2018 QCCS 4948, Mr. Justice Bernard Tremblay dismissed a successful arbitral party’s attempt to challenge an arbitral award on the basis that the arbitrator’s reasoning was not consistent with the majority line of reasoning in the subject matter. The arbitral party filed into court several prior arbitral awards involving other parties to support its unsuccessful argument that arbitral precedent justified the court’s intervention. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – court dismisses rare challenge by successful arbitral party and challenge based on arbitral precedent – #137[:]”
[:en]Québec – court disallows amendment seeking to add claim subject to arbitration agreement – #129[:]
[:en]In Lashchuk v. Zambito, 2018 QCCS 4553, Mr. Justice Michel A. Pinsonnault affirmed the court’s support for arbitration and disallowed Plaintiff’s application to amend its proceeding to include a dispute covered by a valid arbitration agreement. Analysing the role of wording such as “may”, “shall” and “must” in the parties’ arbitration agreement, Pinsonnault J. accepted that parties’ use of the term “may” can unconditionally grant each other the right to undertake arbitration without rendering their agreement unenforceable or otherwise less obligatory. The use of “may” still allowed Pinsonnault J. to hive off part of a complex dispute and exclude it from the litigation going forward. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – court disallows amendment seeking to add claim subject to arbitration agreement – #129[:]”
[:en]Québec – Mafia leader’s resolution of real estate dispute qualifies as arbitration – #123[:]
[:en]In Lalli v. Gravel, 2018 QCCS 3927, Mr. Justice Lukasz Granosik accepted that a meeting conducted by a Mafia leader to resolve opposing interests and claims between two individuals over a particular piece of real estate validly qualified as an arbitration. Though unconventional, the constituent elements of the meeting – two individuals with opposing interests or claims summoned to appear before the Mafia leader who, after having heard each, decided in favour of Plaintiff – justified characterizing the meeting as an arbitration. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – Mafia leader’s resolution of real estate dispute qualifies as arbitration – #123[:]”
[:en]Québec – costs of arbitration incurred post-notice of intention not a claim provable in bankruptcy – #116[:]
[:en]In Proposition de 2295822 Canada Inc., 2018 QCCS 3862, Madam Justice Chantal Corriveau treated the costs of arbitration the same as court costs and applied the case law issuing in different Canadian jurisdictions to exclude the costs of arbitration from qualifying as a claim provable under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, RSC 1985, c B-3 (“BIA”). Though the parties’ agreement to arbitrate, entered into prior to the debtor filing a notice of intention, mentioned the recovery of the costs of the arbitration, the agreement did not quantify them or impose them without condition on the losing party. Rather, the agreement merely gave the arbitrator jurisdiction to award them should she so decide and to do so in an amount subject to her determination. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – costs of arbitration incurred post-notice of intention not a claim provable in bankruptcy – #116[:]”
[:en]Québec – Court of Appeal upholds quashing arbitral party’s seizure of assets before award’s recognition/enforcement, award may also raise issue of public order – #114[:]
[:en]In deciding whether to grant leave to appeal an applications judge’s order, Mr. Justice Robert M. Mainville in Heft Family Law Inc. v. Alkhalafawi, 2018 QCCA 1262 set out the limits of a procedure available to arbitral parties in Québec looking to ensure recovery of their awards and the statutory framework for arbitrating fee disputes which exist in many self-governing professional orders in Québec. The reasons also anticipate a decision, to issue on the merits in the future, regarding Defendant’s argument that an arbitration award granting a contingency fee in family law matters is unenforceable as contrary to public order under article 646 of Québec’s Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR c C-25.01 (“C.C.P.”).
Continue reading “[:en]Québec – Court of Appeal upholds quashing arbitral party’s seizure of assets before award’s recognition/enforcement, award may also raise issue of public order – #114[:]”
[:en]Québec – court telephones its own choice of potential candidates during court hearing to appoint arbitrator – #113[:]
[:en]In Gestion PMOD Inc. v. 9E Bit (2015) Inc., 2018 QCCS 3594, Mr. Justice Jean-Guy Dubois demonstrated the court’s efforts to assist arbitral parties advance with their chosen form of dispute resolution. Dubois J. not only clarified the nature of each parties’ position to their dispute before granting Plaintiff’s motion to appoint an arbitrator but placed two (2) telephone calls during the court hearing to a pair of candidates of his own choosing and, confirming the second candidate’s acceptance and rate, appointed him as arbitrator. Dubois J. also closed his reasons with a clearly defined, non-binding obiter dictum section in which he articulated what he had determined was the scope of the dispute and the parties’ respective positions. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – court telephones its own choice of potential candidates during court hearing to appoint arbitrator – #113[:]”
[:en]Québec – bankruptcy proceedings stayed pending arbitration on merits of creditor’s claim – #110[:]
[:en]Mr. Justice Pierre C. Bellavance in Syndic de Station touristique Massif du Sud (1993) Inc., 2018 QCCS 3605 suspended the court’s determination of a creditor’s application for a bankruptcy order under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, RSC 1985, c B-3 (“BIA”) pending the result of an imminent arbitration on the merits between the creditor and debtor. Though the debtor applied for the immediate dismissal of the creditor’s court application, arguing that the highly publicized litigation harmed its operations, Bellavance J. exercised his discretion under the BIA to suspend the court process. Bellavance J. did so because the court was not the appropriate forum for doing so and the parties were soon to proceed on the merits before the arbitration tribunal having jurisdiction. The forthcoming arbitration award would soon resolve the court litigation. Continue reading “[:en]Québec – bankruptcy proceedings stayed pending arbitration on merits of creditor’s claim – #110[:]”