Law360 Canada ( May 12, 2026, 9:35 AM EDT) -- Appeals by Vancouver School District (VSB) from three orders. Two procedural orders were made by Stephens J. staying the effect of an arbitral award and an order was made by Chan J., setting aside that award and substituting a lower valuation. The dispute arose under a long‑term commercial lease between VSB and Kingsgate/Beedie concerning rent for successive renewal terms. A 1999 arbitration interpreted immediate use as an outright use under the applicable C‑3A zoning (1.0 FSR), finding that conditional uses requiring discretionary approval and lengthy delays could not be immediate. In 2022, a new panel adopted a different interpretation, finding conditional use to be the highest and best lawful immediate use in 2017, and valued the lands at $116.5 million. Beedie appealed with leave on two questions of law: whether the 2022 panel erred in interpreting the 1999 award for the purposes of issue estoppel; and whether it considered irrelevant factors in declining to apply estoppel. VSB challenged leave conditions, the stay, the applicable standard of review, and Chan J.’s setting aside of the award. VSB argued Stephens J. exceeded his statutory authority by staying obligations arising under the lease rather than under the award, misapplied the stay test, and supplemented his earlier leave order. On the merits, VSB asserted that Chan J. erred by failing to apply reasonableness, by misinterpreting the 1999 award, by holding the 2022 panel considered irrelevant factors, and by refusing to remit valuation. Beedie argued the stay was properly granted to prevent a miscarriage of justice, that correctness governed the statutory appeal, and that the 2022 panel’s interpretation of immediate use was open to it. VSB further argued that estoppel should not apply given materially changed permitting timelines, and that Chan J. erred by re‑weighing evidence and substituting her own reasoning....