Unreasonable Refusal to Mediate: The Need for a Principled Approach - PGF II SA v OMFS Co 1 Ltd

Abstract

Comments on the Court of Appeal ruling in PGF II SA v OMFS Co 1 Ltd on whether a business tenant that breached its repair covenant should be required to pay the landlord's costs on the grounds that it had refused to acknowledge the latter's invitations to take part in mediation. Details the court's analysis of whether silence amounted to an unreasonable refusal to take part in alternative dispute resolution, which justified a costs penalty, and its grounds for extending the non-exhaustive factors to consider under the principles established in Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust.