English Court Trumps Arbitration Clause in Favor of One-Stop Litigation

Today, Pillsbury attorney Ray Sweigart posted his client alert titled English Court Trumps Arbitration Clause in Favor of One-Stop Litigation. The Alert discusses the English High Court in Monde Petroleum SA v WesternZagros Ltd [2015] EWHC 67 (Comm) recently deciding whether a dispute resolution clause in a settlement agreement referring disputes to the English court superseded an arbitration provision in the underlying contract so as to govern resolution of subsequent disputes arising out of both agreements. The court held that the later clause controlled, and it applied a presumption of one-stop adjudication as evidenced by the language of the clause itself as well as the surrounding factual circumstances, including the timing of the agreement to the conflicting provisions.