Potential Pitfalls in Australian Dispute Resolution Clauses
Seeley Int’l Pty. Ltd. v. Electra Air Conditioning BV, 2008 WL 276689, [2008] FCA 29 (Fed. Ct. Austl.)
This Australian case illustrates the issues, in that jurisdiction, which can turn on niceties in the drafting of dispute resolution clauses. Seeley, a distributor of air conditioners sued their manufacturer, Electra, in the Australian Federal Court for breach of contract, seeking a declaration and summary judgment. Electra sought to restrain the proceedings on the basis of an agreement to arbitrate any issue between the parties before a single arbitrator seated in Melbourne under the IAMA Rules. However, the relevant clause also provided that nothing in it “prevents a party from seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in the case of a material breach or threatened breach of this Agreement.”
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