Section 7502(c) of the CPLR authorizes provisional remedies in aid of arbitration. It can be used in aid of arbitrations that take place both in and outside of New York, thus making the statute broader than its sister statute governing attachments in aid of litigation. Perhaps the most interesting question about the statute is how come it is not used more? This article looks at the history of the statute and some of the cases decided under it.
Reversing ‘Cooper’
In 1982, the New York Court of Appeals decided Cooper v. Ateliers de la Motobecane, S.A., 57 N.Y.2d 408 (1982), in which it held that pre-award attachments could not be issued in connection with an international arbitration that fell under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the Convention). 9 U.S.C. Chapter 2. The court explained that attachments could be brought only in connection with a lawsuit seeking money damages and that a case to compel arbitration did not so qualify. In addition, the court held that, because the Convention authorized a court to “refer” to arbitration any case falling under the Convention, a court could do nothing other than “refer.” Inasmuch as granting an attachment order was more than just “referring” the case, it was forbidden.
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