David R. Haigh

The appellant, a Russian corporation, sought to enforce a foreign arbitral award against the respondent, an Alberta corporation, in Alberta.

The application was brought more than three years after the award was rendered.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards permits the application of local limitation periods.

In Alberta, the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award is subject to the general two-year limitation period under s. 3 of the Limitations Act, not the 10-year period for judgments under s. 11.

Consequently, the appellant's application was time-barred and the appeal was dismissed.

The parties entered into a joint venture for a golf course and residential development.

They reached a prior oral agreement regarding the dimensions of the land subject to a development option.

The appellant fraudulently drafted the written contract to reflect a much smaller parcel of land, and the respondent signed it without reading the specific clause.

When the respondent discovered the error, he sought rectification of the contract.

The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the trial judge's decision to grant rectification, finding that the respondent's lack of due diligence in reading the contract was not a bar to equitable relief, particularly given the appellant's fraud.

However, the Court declined to restore the trial judge's award of punitive damages, concluding that the substantial compensatory damages awarded were sufficient to achieve the goals of retribution, deterrence, and denunciation.