The applicants sought to appeal or set aside a Partial Final Award of an arbitrator that granted the respondents a 50% constructive trust interest in a commercial property adjacent to a jointly owned shopping centre.
The arbitrator had found an ad hoc fiduciary duty despite the Co-Tenancy Agreement explicitly excluding partnership and fiduciary obligations.
The Superior Court of Justice granted leave to appeal, finding that the arbitration agreement did not preclude appeals on questions of law.
The court set aside the relevant portions of the award, holding that the arbitrator committed extricable errors of law by ignoring the unambiguous exclusionary language of the agreement and exceeded his jurisdiction by deciding an unpleaded claim for an ad hoc fiduciary duty.
