The applicant, Joshua Dean Nelson, sought to set aside an arbitral award rendered under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement against the Government of the United Mexican States.
The application was brought under Article 34(2)(a)(ii) of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, alleging denial of natural justice and procedural fairness.
Specifically, the applicant claimed the award was based on an unpleaded theory and that the tribunal ignored expert evidence regarding the existence of interconnection rights and the effect of Mexican regulatory decisions.
The court dismissed the application, finding that the tribunal's decision was based on issues that were pleaded, argued, and subject to cross-examination, and that the tribunal adequately considered the expert evidence, even if not explicitly naming the experts.