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Whitestone Construction Co. v. Varied Construction Corp.

Citations: 118 A.D.3d 418; 987 N.Y.S.2d 56

Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; June 3, 2014; New York; State Appellate Court

Narrative Opinion Summary

In a judgment issued by the Supreme Court of New York County, Justice Charles E. Ramos affirmed the denial of a petition under CPLR article 75, seeking to declare a respondent in default for non-payment of arbitrator compensation. The court upheld the arbitrators' decision, referencing arbitration rules that explicitly prohibit defaults for nonpayment, thus precluding judicial intervention. The court cited precedents, including *Matter of Salvano v. Merrill Lynch* and *Mobil Oil Indonesia v. Asamera Oil*, to support its decision not to intervene. The petitioner's reliance on cases such as *Brandifino v. CryptoMetrics, Inc.* was deemed unpersuasive as these did not address the specific issue of arbitration rules barring defaults. Furthermore, the court noted that the case *Sink v. Aden Enterprises, Inc.* supported the arbitrator's discretion in default remedies but did not involve default prohibitions. The court found no merit in the petitioner's other arguments, leading to a unanimous affirmation of the ruling without costs awarded.

Legal Issues Addressed

Arbitration and Default Provisions

Application: The court upheld the arbitrators' decision not to declare the respondent in default for non-payment of arbitrator compensation, aligning with arbitration rules that prohibit such defaults.

Reasoning: The court determined that the arbitrators had appropriately denied the petitioner's requests to declare the respondent in default due to non-payment of arbitrator compensation, citing that the applicable arbitration rules explicitly bar defaults for nonpayment.

Arbitrator's Discretion in Default Remedies

Application: The court supported the arbitrator's discretion in granting or denying default remedies, consistent with the case *Sink v. Aden Enterprises, Inc.*.

Reasoning: Additionally, the case *Sink v. Aden Enterprises, Inc.* did not involve default prohibitions and supported the arbitrator's discretion in granting default remedies.

Judicial Non-Intervention in Arbitration

Application: The court refused to intervene in the arbitration proceedings, adhering to precedents that limit judicial involvement in arbitrators' decisions regarding procedural matters.

Reasoning: The court ruled that it should not intervene in this matter, referencing established precedents such as *Matter of Salvano v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith*, *Mobil Oil Indonesia v. Asamera Oil (Indonesia)*, and *Asesd, LLC v. Vanguard Construction Development Co. Inc.*

Persuasiveness of Cited Cases

Application: The court found the petitioner's cited cases unpersuasive as they did not pertain to arbitration rules barring defaults for nonpayment.

Reasoning: The petitioner’s cited cases, including *Brandifino v. CryptoMetrics, Inc.* and *Sanderson Farms, Inc. v. Gatlin*, were deemed unpersuasive as they did not address arbitration rules prohibiting defaults.