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Case 129: MAL 8(1)
Hong Kong: High Court of Hong Kong (Leonard J.)
19 April 1996
Nassetti Ettore S.p.a. v. Lawton Development Limited
Original in English
Unpublished
(Abstract prepared by the Secretariat)
The plaintiff, an Italian company, sold to the defendant, a Hong Kong company, a production line for the manufacture of granite tiles to be delivered to China. The contract provided for arbitration in Stockholm under the auspices of the Stockholm Swedish International Chamber of Commerce.
Disputes arose and the plaintiff applied for summary judgement for payment of the balance due by the defendant under the contract. The defendant applied for an order that all further proceedings in the action should be stayed pursuant to article 8(1) MAL.
Under reference to Tai Hing Cotton Mill Ltd. v. Glencore Grain Rotterdam B.V. and another (CLOUT Case 128), the court held that under article 8(1) MAL "the Court is not concerned with investigating whether the Defendant has an arguable basis for disputing the Claim." The court also held that "the question is whether there is a dispute between the parties in the ordinary sense of that word" and that there is dispute "unless there is an unequivocal admission of liability and quantum".
The court found that it was the obligation of the court to refer the parties to
arbitration and ordered that the proceedings be stayed accordingly.
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CASE LAW ON UNCITRAL TEXTS (CLOUT)
Abstracts of cases
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