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UNITED STATES 2025-6
United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 29 May 2024, Case No. 2:23-mc-0150-JDW
(FSD Pharma, Inc. v. Raza Bokhari)
UNITED STATES 2025-6
The District Court granted enforcement of a Canadian award, dismissing, inter alia, the claim of partiality of the arbitrator, which was based on the arbitrator not having made disclosures of engagements that could create the appearance of bias. The Court noted that the defendant framed this argument under Article V(1)(d). The proceedings, he claimed, had not been in accordance with the parties’ agreement, because the arbitration was governed by the Ontario Arbitration Act, which requires arbitrators to be impartial. The Court found that the defendant waived this argument because he did not ask for disclosures before agreeing to the arbitrator’s appointment.
The court discusses the general conditions the Convention imposes on a petitioner for seeking recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award – namely, the submission of the original arbitration agreement or arbitral award or a certified copy thereof – and examines in general whether these conditions were complied in the case at issue.
The court discusses the overall scheme and/or pro-enforcement bias of the Convention.
The court discusses questions relating to the general approach taken by the Convention to the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement, including its pro-enforcement bias, as well as the system of the Convention, under which recognition and enforcement may only be denied on seven listed grounds and the petitioner has only the obligations set out in Art. IV.
Due process: The court discusses various irregularities affecting due process, including letters not sent, names of arbitrators or experts not communicated, language of proceedings and communications, etc.