In commerce it may be impossible to avoid disputes completely, but should a dispute arise it is at least possible to choose the forum for its resolution. So thought the insurers of the defendant in Wilson Homes Limited v Surrey Services Limited (in liquidation) another 1 . The claimant, having obtained judgment against the defendant in liquidation, sought to recover from its insurers pursuant to the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930. The insurers had chosen arbitration as their preferred forum and the policy provided that "any dispute shall be referred to a QC of the English Bar".
Accordingly, when joined into the proceedings, the insurers applied for a stay under the Arbitration Act 1996 so that the matter could be referred to arbitration. However, the application was refused by Judge Anthony Thornton QC who decided that the clause did not record an agreement to arbitrate. In his view, such an agreement would require a clause which "identified the reference expressly
