- Parties: The plaintiff was Crosby Molasses Company Limited, a Body Corporate. The defendants were the owners and all others interested in the Ship M/T “Scot Stuttgart”; Scot Stuttgart S.A., a Body Corporate; Scot Tanker Holdings S.A., a Body Corporate; and all others interested in the Ship M/T “Scot Stuttgart”. 

- Subject Matter: The charterer, which the plaintiff purchased, and the defendants entered into a molasses charter party. The plaintiff commenced four actions, on its behalf and on behalf of subrogated insurance underwriters, to recover damages. It alleged that its cargoes arrived in a damaged condition due to contact with epoxy flakes in the defendant ship’s tanks. The defendants moved to stay the proceedings in favour of arbitration in New York under s. 50(1)(a) of the Federal Courts Act, 1985. An order dismissed the motion. The defendants appealed. 

- Ruling: The court partly allowed the appeal, reversed the associate judge’s finding regarding the enforceability of Bill of Lading No. 2’s arbitration clause, and maintained the associate judge’s other findings. While the arbitration clause was validly incorporated in the bill of lading, the finding regarding unenforceability was unreasonable and failed to consider the Commercial Arbitration Code, the court said. 

- Date: The hearing was set on June 12, 2023. The court released its decision on Sept. 13, 2024. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court said that it would issue a direction about costs submissions if the parties could not agree.