Pritchard Pacific Pty Ltd Baltimore Aircoil (Australia) Pty Ltd v Brendan McCarrison and Breezewater Pty Ltd

Pritchard Pacific Pty Ltd and Baltimore Aircoil (Australia) Pty Ltd (the applicants) sought to set aside an arbitration award made by Mr Brendan McCarrison (the arbitrator) in favour of Breezewater Pty Ltd (the respondent). The dispute concerned the interpretation of a contract for the supply and installation of a cooling tower, and the arbitrator had found that the applicants had breached the contract by failing to make progress payments. The applicants sought to have the award set aside pursuant to section 75 of the *Commercial Arbitration Act 2011* (NSW) (the Act), alleging that the arbitrator had exceeded his powers or had misconducted the proceedings.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the arbitrator had exceeded his powers by determining issues that were not submitted to arbitration. Specifically, the applicants argued that the arbitrator had considered and made findings on a claim for damages for loss of profit, which they contended was outside the scope of the arbitration agreement. The court also considered whether the arbitrator's conduct in admitting certain evidence and making findings based on that evidence amounted to misconduct under the Act.

Justice Wilson found that the arbitration agreement, when read in conjunction with the parties' conduct and submissions before the arbitrator, encompassed the claim for loss of profit. The arbitrator had not, therefore, exceeded his powers. His Honour also determined that the arbitrator's evidentiary rulings and findings did not constitute misconduct, as they were within the bounds of his discretion and the scope of the arbitration. The court concluded that the applicants had failed to establish grounds for setting aside the award under section 75 of the Act.

The application to set aside the arbitration award was dismissed.