Thomas Heintzman – Arbitration Place

The 2010 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways) is one of the most important recent Canadian decisions relating to contract law. It has particular…more

What is the best way to protect the authority of international commercial arbitrations? Is a party obliged to "play defence" and not ask the courts of the seat of the arbitration to interfere until after arbitration proceedings…more

In Canada, the obligation of a tribunal to give reasons has become one of the hallmarks of justice. But do arbitrators have an obligation to give reasons? Not if the parties agree that no such reasons need be given and the…more

A contractor's worst nightmare is making a mistake in a tender and being stuck with a low bid. The next worse nightmare is submitting a winning bid but one which contains errors which arguably make the bid non-compliant. What…more

What margin of error does an arbitrator have? Should an arbitral tribunal's decision be set aside if it is legally incorrect? Or should a wider deference be shown, so that a decision will only be set aside if it is…more

A difficult issue that may arise between contractors and subcontractors is the nature of their contractual relationship. Are they: independent contractors; or partners; or joint venturers; or employees one of the other? In…more

Can an informal tender process which is not part of a bid depository system give rise to liability for negligent misrepresentation? Can it give rise to liability for bad faith conduct? In Oz Optics Limited v. Timbercom,…more

An important issue for construction and builders liens is whether destroying or removing land, structure and equipment qualifies as an "improvement". Why shouldn't it, if it benefits the owner? After all, the land itself…more

Every once in a while, an important decision comes along which should be put in your hip pocket so that it can be pulled out when needed. Rainy Sky S.A. v. Kookmin Bank is such a decision. In this decision, the U.K. Supreme…more

Does an arbitral tribunal have authority to dismiss an arbitration claim for want of prosecution? Some arbitration statutes expressly state that a tribunal has the power to do so. Absent such an express power, the British…more

Courts have difficulty reconcilling the rights of parties to arbitration when there are construction liens, cross claims, counterclaims and third party rights involved. How can arbitration, which is a bilateral dispute…more

The Process by which subcontractors' tenders are accepted in a bid depository is fundamental to the efficacy of that system. If that process does not effectively bind the subcontractors, then the subcontractors will be able to…more

The limitation period is a vexing issue to any party involved in a commercial dispute. This truism applies even more to construction disputes because there are a variety of events that may trigger the beginning of the…more

Owners and contractors should always avoid undertaking a project without a contract. But if they do build the project without a contract, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has recently recognized that the party which…more

The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal has recently held that an owner does not owe a duty of care to a subcontractor arising from the normal operation of a bid depository system. The first point in this decision is of…more