The appellant and respondent entered into an exclusive distribution agreement containing an arbitration clause.
After a dispute arose, the parties went to arbitration in Poland, where the appellant's claim was rejected and the respondent's counterclaim was allowed.
The appellant then commenced an action in the Superior Court of Quebec based on the same causes of action.
The respondent filed a declinatory exception arguing the court lacked jurisdiction ratione materiae due to the arbitration clause.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that a complete undertaking to arbitrate is valid in Quebec law under article 951 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and that such a clause deprives the ordinary courts of jurisdiction ratione materiae.
The appeal was dismissed.
