Anton Rizor

The moving parties sought to set aside two international arbitral awards under Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law, alleging inability to present their case, excess of jurisdiction, and inadequate reasons.

The court found a procedural fairness breach where the arbitrator made a proper-party finding without submissions, but held the issue was not material in context because separate findings eliminated personal liability on other grounds.

The court rejected the jurisdiction and insufficiency-of-reasons challenges, emphasizing the narrow scope of intervention and deference to international arbitral awards.

Exercising discretion under Article 34, the court declined to order a new arbitration.

The application was dismissed.

The plaintiff, Victoria Smith, brought a summary judgment motion against the defendant, Shaun Rothberg (also known as Shaun Rootenberg), to recover damages for breach of trust arising from a romance fraud.

Ms. Smith had previously set the case down for trial, requiring leave to bring the motion.

She also sought to dismiss the action against other defendants with whom she had settled.

The court granted leave for the summary judgment motion, finding it would provide a faster and cheaper resolution than a trial.

The court relied on Mr. Rootenberg's prior criminal conviction for fraud related to the same funds, applying section 22.1 of the Evidence Act and the doctrine of abuse of process to prevent re-litigation of the established facts.

The court found Mr. Rootenberg breached an express or resulting trust.

Judgment was granted against Mr. Rootenberg for $558,456 plus prejudgment interest and costs.

The action against the other defendants was dismissed without costs, as they had settled and Mr. Rootenberg had not filed a cross-claim.