Combined notices

Where a series of cargo owners have claims against a carrier under the various bills of lading issued to them, their representative may give a single notice of arbitration to the carrier. Doubtless the intention of such a notice is to trigger as many arbitrations as there are claimants. In Easybiz Investments v Sinograin Chinatex [2010] EWHC 2565 (Comm) the carrier took the point that such a notice, if capable of being construed as requiring a consolidated arbitration, is void. Hamblen J, upholding the view of the arbitrators in a challenge under s67 of the Arbitration Act

1996 against their award on jurisdiction, held that it is necessary to give the notice a businesslike rather than technical meaning and to construe it as legitimately commencing separate but parallel arbitrations.