Bound To Arbitrate

An attorney must submit to arbitration of a dispute with Holland & Knight, according to a decision of the New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department

The motion court correctly found that, although plaintiff had not signed the partnership agreement containing the arbitration provision, he had assumed the duty to arbitrate by annually agreeing to be bound by the partnership agreement and by repeatedly invoking the dispute resolution provision in the partnership agreement (see Thomson-CSF, S.A. v American Arbitration Assn., 64 F3d 773, 777 [2d Cir 1995]).

The court also correctly found that the dispute was governed by the arbitration provision.

Renewal was properly denied, as no waiver of the right to arbitrate was effected by defendant’s application for a preliminary injunction in aid of arbitration and the accompanying assertion of counterclaims, with no further litigation activity (see Cusimano v Schnurr, 26 NY3d 391, 400 [2015]; LaRosa v Arbusman, 74 AD3d 601, 604 [1st Dept 2010]). Notably, defendant demonstrated a clear intent to continue the arbitration process by seeking mediation of the counterclaims under the dispute resolution provision of the partnership agreement.

.(Mike Frisch)