Can the court override an expert determination decision, asks Chris Pamplin
There is a general presumption that, where parties have made an agreement for a particular form of dispute resolution, that agreement will be binding on both parties and they should be held to it (see Channel Tunnel Group Ltd v Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd [1993] AC 334, [1993] 1 All ER 664). In Barclays Bank v Nylon Capital [2011] EWCA Civ 826, [2011] All ER (D) 214 (Jul), the Court of Appeal considered how far this presumption should be applied to the jurisdiction of an expert appointed under an expert determination (ED) clause, and whether the agreement reached by the parties could overreach the powers of the court to determine the expert’s jurisdiction.
Venture capital
Barclays Bank v Nylon Capital revolved around what had to be paid to whom when Barclays pulled out of a joint venture with Nylon Capital. Barclays issued claims against Nylon seeking declarations by the court that they were not obliged to pay anything. Nylon applied to stay the action in the High Court pending settlement
