An appeals court has denied a party's request to have its business row over the purchase of a kosher wine store arbitrated in a rabbinical court.

A three-judge Pennsylvania Superior Court panel in Le Vin v. Blue Star Wine denied Blue Star's motion to compel arbitration.

The dispute arose over an alleged breach of contract during the sale of Blue Star to Le Vin in May 2014. In addition to breach of contract, Le Vin sued Blue Star and its officers for fraud, violation of a noncompete clause, and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.

According to Superior Court Judge Maria McLaughlin's opinion, the agreement contained no arbitration clause, yet Blue Star insisted the case was arbitrable in a Beth Din, a body that arbitrates in adherence to orthodox Jewish law.

The Philadelphia trial court denied Blue Star's request and was upheld by the Superior Court.

On appeal, the Blue Star defendants pointed to a correspondence of letters between a rabbi and a purported representative of Le Vin before the Beth Din.

“We fail to see how this set of facts, taken as true, could establish a meeting of the minds and a binding agreement to arbitrate between the parties,” McLaughlin said. “The letters do not discuss any material terms or demonstrate an express offer and a timely, unconditional acceptance.”

She continued, “While appellants stated in their preliminary objections that they 'have agreed' to submit to arbitration before the Beth Din, they make no mention of how or when their agreement was communicated to Le Vin, or the terms of the agreement. Appellants' assertion that an enforceable agreement existed was a conclusion of law to which the trial court was not bound, and one which appellants failed to support with adequate factual allegations.”

McLaughlin said the defendants put too much weight on letters stating that the case has been presented to the Beth Din for review.

“These documents, however, are no substitute for factual allegations substantiating the existence of an agreement,” the judge said.

The rabbi's letters, she added, “merely echo the same legal conclusion appellants have embraced, without providing substantiation of Rabbi [Dov] Brisman's belief through allegations that any party made any particular oral statement or signed any particular document expressly submitting to the authority of the Beth Din.”

Robert Nemeroff of Friedman Schuman in Jenkintown represents Blue Star and Jay M. Levin of Offit Kurman in Philadelphia represents Le Vin.

Levin said, “I think the court was absolutely correct. The trial court got it right and the Superior Court got it right.”

Nemeroff did not return a call seeking comment.