Court of Appeal Dismisses Appeal Pursuant to “Competence-Competence” Principle

Andrew Ottaway, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.Appeals, Arbitration, Civil Litigation, Contract Disputes0 Comments

In Ciano Trading & Services C.T. v. Skylink Aviation Inc. the Ontario Court of Appeal considered the appeal of an order staying court proceedings pending the arbitration of the dispute.

The arbitration clause at issue was part of a Services Agreement that was terminated prior to commencement of the court proceedings.  The Services Agreement listed the provisions that would survive termination, but did not specifically address whether the arbitration clause survived termination.   The appellant argued that the motion judge should have found that the arbitration clause did not survive termination of the Services Agreement, and therefore should not have stayed the court proceedings.

The Court of Appeal disagreed stating that, because it was arguable whether the arbitration clause survived termination of the Services Agreement, it was preferable to leave the issue of jurisdiction to the arbitrator pursuant to the “competence-competence” principle.  The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

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Andrew Ottaway, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B.

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