Dale Strickland vs. Ernst & Young LLP, G.R. No. 193782, 1 August 2018 (Philippines)

The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals when it stated that the nature of the dispute can appropriately be covered by international commercial arbitration which shall be governed by the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, considering that the respondent's place of business is in the United States, and the services for which petitioner sought remuneration for, was in the Philippines. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the claim for compensation was commercial in nature due to the partnership relationship between petitioner and respondent. It further pointed out that [t]he explanatory footnote to Article 1(l) of the Model Law explains that [t]he term “commercial” should be given a wide interpretation so as to cover matters arising from all relationships of a commercial nature, whether contractual or not. Thus, the dispute was properly referred to arbitration.