Ben Sakamoto

The applicants sought to set aside two international arbitral awards, alleging reasonable apprehension of bias, exceeding jurisdiction, and inadequate reasons by the arbitrator.

The core issue was the arbitrator's failure to disclose a concurrent retainer from the respondents' counsel while the arbitration was ongoing.

The court found a reasonable apprehension of bias, emphasizing the importance of arbitrator impartiality and the specific context of the parties' pre-appointment concerns regarding relationships with counsel.

The awards were set aside, and a new arbitration was ordered.

The moving parties (respondents in the main application) brought a motion to dismiss an application to set aside an arbitral award for lack of jurisdiction.

The responding parties (applicants in the main application) sought to set aside the award on the basis of a reasonable apprehension of bias, as the arbitrator had been retained by the moving parties' counsel in an unrelated matter.

The moving parties argued that under Articles 12 and 13 of the Model Law, the responding parties were required to submit their challenge to the arbitrator first, since the arbitration was still extant regarding costs and interest.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the arbitrator was functus officio regarding the final award on the merits, and the responding parties were entitled to seek recourse under Article 34 of the Model Law.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for a Mareva injunction against the defendants, alleging they were defrauded of over $800,000 CAD/USD through a fake investment scheme.

The defendants allegedly promised to invest the funds in options, futures, or forex, but instead diverted the funds and ceased communications.

The court found the plaintiffs established a strong prima facie case of fraud, conspiracy, breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, knowing assistance, and conversion.

The court granted the Mareva injunction, finding a serious risk of asset dissipation.

This endorsement addresses three motions in an oppression action concerning the Paramount Group, a food services business facing shareholder deadlock.

The plaintiffs (Mohamad Fakih et al.) moved to strike portions of the defendants' counterclaim alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and for security for costs.

The defendants (AHM Investments Corporation et al.) moved for compliance with financial disclosure and the appointment of an auditor.

The court partially granted the motion to strike due to insufficient particulars of fraud.

The motion for security for costs was dismissed, as the counterclaim was inextricably linked to the defence and, at its core, an oppression remedy claim, which is exempt from security for costs under the OBCA.

The defendants' motion for financial disclosure and the appointment of an auditor was granted, affirming shareholders' mandatory right to audited financial statements, with the Paramount Group responsible for the audit fees.