‘Final And Binding’: Ontario Court Upholds Arbitral Award Despite Finding Error Of Law

Key takeaways

• The Ontario Superior Court upheld an arbitration award despite finding an error of law by the arbitrator in Tedescon Infrastructure Ltd. v. The County of Simcoe.
• The Court determined that the arbitration agreement’s clause stating the award was “final and binding” negated Tedescon’s right to appeal the award.
• Despite finding an error of law, the Court upheld the arbitrator’s award, emphasizing the importance of the parties’ choice to make arbitration final.

In its recent decision in Tedescon Infrastructure Ltd. v. The County of Simcoe (Tedescon), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld an arbitration award in a construction dispute despite finding the arbitrator had committed an error of law. Specifically, the Court found that the arbitrator erred in finding that the contractor’s contractually-permitted work stoppage was nevertheless a repudiation of the contract entitling the owner to damages for the cost of a replacement contractor. However, the Court