New York is often thought of as a center for commercial arbitration, whether for straightforward contract disputes, or for more specialized matters involving, for example, real estate, construction or banking issues.  Regardless of the nature of the dispute, counsel handling an arbitration in New York must be mindful of the federal and state laws that will apply, and more importantly, when one will apply over the other.

What Law Applies

The Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1, et seq.) (“FAA”) or New York’s CPLR (Article 75) – or a combination of both – may govern a New York arbitration.  While the FAA pre-empts and displaces conflicting state law, the FAA’s and CPLR’s provisions are largely consistent.  Therefore, both federal and New York law may be involved to the extent they do not conflict.