The applicants (Sellers) and respondents (Purchasers) disputed the process for valuing shares under a shareholders agreement following the termination of the Sellers' employment.
The Sellers applied to appoint their preferred arbitrator and argued for a full arbitration under the Arbitration Act, 1991.
The Purchasers cross-applied to appoint their preferred arbitrator, seeking a streamlined valuation process and a court declaration on the valuation date.
The court held that the agreement contemplated a formal arbitration under the Act, not merely a valuation.
The court declined to determine the valuation date, leaving it to the arbitrator under the competence-competence principle, and ordered the parties to select a neutral third-party arbitrator.
