In my blog post of
Heller was an
For obvious reasons, the idea of arbitrating in
Heller commenced an action against
Nevertheless, Heller took his case to the
The Court noted that there was a substantial upfront cost that would be incurred by any party seeking to commence the arbitration process as contemplated by the agreement. That upfront cost was not disclosed in the agreement itself. In addition, as would have been obvious to anyone, the cost to arbitrate in
The Court ruled that in limited circumstances, an arbitration clause can be considered invalid. One such circumstance involves a finding of unconscionability.
Unconscionability requires both an inequality of bargaining power and a resulting improvident bargain. An inequality of bargaining power exists when one party cannot adequately protect its own interests in the contracting process. A bargain is improvident if it unduly advantages the stronger party or unduly disadvantages the more vulnerable party.
With standard form contracts, there is a real potential to create an inequality of bargaining power and to enhance the advantage of the stronger party, more particularly through elements such as arbitration clauses that deprive the weaker party of a remedy as a practical matter. When arbitration is realistically unattainable, it amounts to no dispute resolution mechanism at all.
On that basis, a majority on the Court found the arbitration clause to be unconscionable and therefore invalid. A concurring judge added that the arbitration clause was invalid because it violated the public policy that exists in favour of providing Canadian citizens with meaningful access to justice.
Unconscionability is an argument that, in my experience, is often attempted but rarely succeeds. The idea that such an argument would succeed in circumstances involving a mandatory arbitration clause, which is almost always regarded by the Court as beyond challenge, is quite surprising. Nevertheless, it is clear that the justice of the matter cried out for a remedy for
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