Legal Blog

Arbitration

Zenith Aluminum Systems Limited v. 2335945 Ontario Inc. 2018 Ont SCJ

The parties had agreed orally to arbitrate their dispute and had gone so far as to arrange for an arbitrator. The parties could not agree on the scope of the arbitration and pre-arbitration steps to be taken. The plaintiff commenced an action because the limitation period was fast approaching and the parties had not entered into a tolling agreement. The defendant served a withdrawal of notice of arbitration and indicated it was no longer willing to arbitrate the matter, given that the plaintiff had initiated a court action. The plaintiff brought a motion to stay its own action and to have the matter dealt with by way of arbitration. The judge declined to allow the defendant to unilaterally withdraw from its obligation under the oral arbitration agreement and ordered that the arbitration take place within 5 months.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.