MARTINEZ & COHEN

Martinez & Co Pty Ltd (the applicant) and Cohen (the respondent) were parties to a dispute before Gill J of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The applicant sought to set aside an arbitration award made in favour of the respondent.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the arbitration award should be set aside pursuant to section 34(2)(a)(ii)(B) of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic) on the grounds that the respondent had been guilty of fraud in the procurement of the award. Specifically, the applicant alleged that the respondent had presented false evidence to the arbitrator, which led to the award being made.

Gill J considered the evidence presented by the applicant and the respondent's submissions. The court applied the principles established in cases concerning the setting aside of arbitration awards for fraud, which require a high threshold to be met. His Honour found that the applicant had failed to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the respondent had engaged in fraud in the procurement of the award. The evidence presented did not demonstrate that the respondent knowingly presented false evidence with the intention of deceiving the arbitrator.

Consequently, the application to set aside the arbitration award was dismissed.