Arbitration recently has been garnering its fair share of attention. Congress is currently considering controversial legislation which would outlaw mandatory arbitration provisions in consumer, employment and franchise agreements.1 Judges are more frequently coaxing litigants to submit their dispute to binding arbitration before an independent neutral as a means of clearing out their overcrowded dockets. Since the enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act more than 85 years ago and myriad state statutes governing arbitration, one thing has always remained constant: For an arbitration to exist, the parties must first agree to arbitrate.2 It now appears, however, that a statutory exception exists in New York which can force owners, contractors and subcontractors involved in payment disputes on private jobs to resolve them solely and exclusively via a binding arbitration proceeding.
With little fanfare last September, New York’s Construction Contract Prompt Payment Law3 was amended to provide that violations of the statute may be submitted to binding arbitration at the request of an “aggrieved party.” Its purpose is to expedite payment of all monies owed to those who perform contracting services on private construction projects where the size of contract between the owner and the general contractor exceeds $150,000.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
