Alberta Court Of Appeal Confirms Hands-off Approach In Setting Aside Arbitration Awards

ENMAX Energy Corporation and the Balancing Pool v. TransAlta Partnership ¹

The Alberta Court of Appeal ("ABCA") recently dismissed an appeal of an Alberta Court of Queen's Bench ("ABQB") decision denying ENMAX Energy Corporation ("ENMAX") and the Balancing Pool's (together the "Appellants") application to set aside an arbitration award granted in an arbitration between them and TransAlta Generation Partnership ("TransAlta" and the "Arbitration"). The dismissal of this appeal came after a nearly six year judicial process challenging the decision from the Arbitration through the Courts. The lengthy litigation process that followed the arbitration in this case was likely something the parties deliberately sought to avoid by subjecting their dispute to arbitration. The decisions granted by the Alberta Courts suggest that there continues to be only a limited ability to avoid the finality of an arbitrator's decision.