Fairyglen v Lunsmann

The case of Fairyglen v Lunsmann involved a dispute between Fairyglen and Lunsmann, which was referred to arbitration. The nature of the dispute was primarily centred around the interpretation of a contract and the applicable commercial law. The matter was brought before the court seeking leave to appeal from an arbitrator’s decision, claiming that the arbitrator had made a manifest error of law.

The legal issues before the court were whether the arbitrator had indeed made a manifest error of law and, if so, whether this constituted a sufficient ground for granting leave to appeal. The court had to consider the extent to which the alleged error of law was apparent on the face of the award and whether it amounted to a substantial addition to the certainty of commercial law.

In delivering the judgment, the court noted that for leave to appeal to be granted, there must be a strong indication of an error of law on the face of the award. The court found that the evidence presented was compelling, showing that the arbitrator had indeed made a manifest error of law. The court concluded that this error was significant enough to warrant an appeal, as it added substantial clarity to the relevant commercial law. Consequently, the court granted leave to appeal, allowing the matter to be reviewed on the grounds of the alleged error of law.

The final orders of the court were that leave to appeal from the arbitrator’s decision was granted, on the basis that the error of law was both manifest and significant in adding to the certainty of commercial law.