The Appellant appealed an Order (the “Final Order”) of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (as it then was) made after a binding Judicial Dispute Resolution process pursuant to a Binding Judicial Dispute Resolution Agreement.

The Court determined that the Final Order was a Consent Order. The Court noted that the Rules provide a framework under which a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench is guided as to the conduct of Judicial Dispute Resolution. The Court specifically noted that Rule 4.17 provides that the purpose of Judicial Dispute Resolution process is to “actively facilitate a process in which the parties resolve all or part of a claim by agreement.”

The Court noted that whether the Final Order was a Consent Order was important because Rule 14.5(1)(d) provides that “... no appeal is allowed to the Court of Appeal from ... (d) a decision made on the consent of the parties ...”. As such, an Appeal from a Consent Order requires a legal foundation based on a prior permission to Appeal being granted. Regardless, the Court noted that the lack of prior permission to Appeal was not problematic as the Final Order was not unfair or prejudicial to the Appellant.