Hewitt v Mckensey

The plaintiff, Mr Hewitt, brought proceedings against Mr Mckensey for leave to appeal an arbitration award made by an arbitrator. The dispute involved an agreement for the purchase and sale of shares in a company. The arbitration was conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Act 1984, and the plaintiff contended that there was an error of law in the award which necessitated the appeal. The plaintiff also argued that the arbitrator had committed technical misconduct during the arbitration, which should result in the setting aside of the award.

The court had to determine whether the "no evidence" submission raised an error of law arising out of the award, and whether such an error substantially affected the plaintiff. Additionally, the court had to decide whether the technical misconduct alleged by the plaintiff warranted the setting aside of the award under the discretion provided by the Commercial Arbitration Act 1984.

The court found that the "no evidence" submission did not raise an error of law arising out of the award. The court held that the submission was not about the existence of evidence but rather the weight to be given to the evidence. The court further held that the alleged error did not substantially affect the plaintiff, as the plaintiff had not demonstrated how the alleged error affected the outcome of the arbitration. On the issue of technical misconduct, the court found that the plaintiff had not made out a case of technical misconduct that warranted the setting aside of the award. The court held that the discretion to set aside an award on the ground of technical misconduct should be exercised sparingly and only in cases where the misconduct has a significant impact on the fairness of the arbitration process.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's application for leave to appeal and for the setting aside of the award. The court held that there was no error of law in the award and that the alleged technical misconduct did not warrant the setting aside of the award. The court emphasised that the setting aside of an award on the ground of technical misconduct should only be done in exceptional circumstances where the misconduct has a significant impact on the fairness of the arbitration process.