Broadly applying the term “commerce,” a unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, First Department, on Thursday held that the Federal Arbitration Act applies to agreements governing entities that own and invest in commercial real estate.
The opinion in Rita Cusimano v. Andrew Schnurr, 652429/11, signed by Justice Rosalyn Richter (See Profile), reversed the trial court for staying arbitration of certain claims on statute of limitations grounds. The panel found that since the contracts are subject to the Federal Arbitration Act, the timeliness question was one for the arbitrator, not the court.
