Myriam Marie Seers

The Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) brought a motion for leave to intervene as a friend of the court in an appeal concerning the test for procedural unfairness under the Model Law in international commercial arbitration.

The underlying appeal involved an arbitral claim by Vento Motorcycles Inc. against the United Mexican States under NAFTA, where Vento alleged denial of procedural fairness.

CIPPIC proposed an alternative "material" procedural fairness violation test.

The Court of Appeal dismissed CIPPIC's motion for leave to intervene, finding that CIPPIC did not sufficiently link its expertise to the issue, the case was a private dispute between sophisticated parties, and CIPPIC's proposed arguments risked expanding the scope of the appeal without providing a useful contribution.

The appellant, David E. Wires, appealed a Superior Court judgment that recognized and enforced an arbitration award obtained by the respondent, La Française IC 2.

The appellant raised three grounds of appeal: improper constitution of the arbitral tribunal due to alleged bias, lack of standing of the respondent, and errors in the arbitrator's costs award.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the application judge correctly determined that relitigating the bias issue was an abuse of process, that the respondent had standing, and that the costs award was properly recognized and enforced without double-counting.

The applicant, Vento Motorcycles, Inc., sought to set aside an arbitral award rendered by an ICSID tribunal, alleging two grounds: inability to present its case due to the tribunal's refusal to allow a witness to testify in response to impeachment evidence, and reasonable apprehension of bias by one of the arbitrators due to undisclosed offers of future appointments from the respondent.

The court dismissed the application, finding that Vento was able to present its case and that while a reasonable apprehension of bias existed for one arbitrator, it did not undermine the reliability of the unanimous award or produce real unfairness, especially given the collegial nature of the tribunal and the significant prejudice of redoing the arbitration.

This endorsement addresses the costs of an action brought by CIT Financial Ltd. against several defendants, which was dismissed on summary judgment as statute-barred.

The defendants sought costs on a partial indemnity scale, including legal and expert fees.

The court considered the complexity, importance, and reasonable expectations of the parties.

While the court found the defendants were diligent in bringing their summary judgment motion after discoveries, it significantly reduced the claimed expert fees for Zeifmans (to one-third) and Duff & Phelps (to 50%).

This reduction was due to the defendants' experts' unreasonable refusal to cooperate with the plaintiff's expert, leading to unnecessary duplication of work in calculations.

Ultimately, CIT Financial Ltd. was ordered to pay the defendants legal fees totaling $1,706,147.92 and reduced disbursements (including expert fees) totaling $550,182.34.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss the plaintiff's action for indemnity under a share purchase agreement.

The action was based on alleged breaches of a tax representation and warranty.

The defendants argued the action was statute-barred and that the plaintiff's claim for "loss of use of funds" was limited by contract.

The court granted summary judgment, finding the action was statute-barred because the six-year limitation period began when the plaintiff knew the material facts of the breach and the resulting "claim" (Revenue Canada's reassessment), not upon a demand for indemnity or its refusal.

The court also dismissed the claim for loss of use of funds beyond the contractually agreed prime rate.

The applicants, International Steel Services Inc. (ISSI), sought an interim injunction to restrain the respondent, Dynatec Madagascar S.A. (Dynatec), from interfering with ISSI's contractual rights under a Sulphuric Acid Plant Operation and Maintenance Agreement.

The dispute centered on whether the agreement was extended to September 27, 2018, as ISSI contended, or if it terminated on May 1, 2016, as Dynatec argued.

The court applied the RJR-MacDonald test for injunctions, finding a serious issue to be tried regarding the agreement's extension and Dynatec's termination notice.

It determined that ISSI faced a meaningful risk of irreparable harm to its business reputation and employee relations if Dynatec proceeded with its takeover plans.

The court also found the balance of convenience favoured ISSI, noting Dynatec's "hardball tactics" and delay in facilitating arbitration.

The interim protective order was granted to ISSI, prohibiting Dynatec from interfering with ISSI's contractual rights and operation of the Acid Plant pending an arbitral decision.

Following a prior decision staying the action in favour of arbitration, the defendants sought costs of the motion.

The defendants claimed $61,538.71 all-inclusive, while the plaintiff argued that fees should fall in the range of $25,000.

The court reviewed the billing approach, including reliance on the principle that partial indemnity costs may reflect a percentage of actual billing rates, and assessed the reasonableness of the work performed and hourly rates claimed.

Applying the reasonableness standard and the factors in Rule 57.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court concluded the work appeared excessive in the circumstances.

The court fixed fees and disbursements at a reduced amount payable by the plaintiff.