620 Collins Street Pty Ltd v Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd (No 2)

In this case, 620 Collins Street Pty Ltd sought leave to appeal a decision of the arbitral tribunal rendered in their dispute with Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd. The dispute involved complex commercial issues, including delay costs and interest on uncertified progress payments. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The court was tasked with determining whether there was a manifest error of law on the face of the arbitral award and whether there was strong evidence of such error concerning a question that could add to the certainty of commercial law. This involved assessing the application under the Peninsula Balmain principle and section 38 of the Commercial Arbitration Act 1984 (Vic).

The legal issues at the heart of the case revolved around the interpretation and application of the principles of manifest disregard of the law and the certainty of commercial law. Specifically, the court needed to examine whether the arbitral tribunal had made a clear and evident error in law and whether such an error had a significant impact on the commercial legal landscape. The court also had to consider the procedural aspects of the application for leave to appeal, including the criteria for establishing manifest error of law and the threshold for what constitutes strong evidence.

The court found that there was no manifest error of law on the face of the arbitral award. It held that the tribunal had not clearly disregarded the law and that the evidence did not support the assertion that there was a significant error impacting the certainty of commercial law. The court emphasised the importance of the manifest disregard test and the high threshold required to overturn an arbitral decision. Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed, and the arbitral award was upheld. The court's decision underscored the principle that arbitral awards should be respected unless there is a clear and evident error of law that significantly affects commercial certainty.