ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION — ARBITRATION
03-2-0693 Boulevard Clean-Ers, Inc. v. Liccardi Ford, Inc., App. Div. (per curiam) (8 pp.) Sam D. Heo purchased a vehicle from defendant Liccardi Ford, Inc. in May 1998, and thereafter transferred ownership of the vehicle to his business, Boulevard Clean-ers, Inc. In January 2000, Heo returned to Liccardi and purchased an extended warranty plan without informing Liccardi that the vehicle had been transferred. When Heo brought the vehicle to Liccardi for repairs, the warranty company refused to cover the costs because Heo was no longer the owner of record. In August 2000, Heo and Boulevard filed a complaint against Liccardi, the warranty companies, and John Does. In October 2011, after two judgments against Liccardi were vacated, and delays caused by illness and conflicts of interest, plaintiffs filed a motion to compel arbitration. The court issued an order permitting Liccardi to decide whether to proceed to arbitration or to reinstate the lawsuit. Liccardi chose to restore the matter to the active trial calendar. Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration. The court granted plaintiffs' motion and signed an order compelling arbitration. The parties had agreed to arbitrate in 2007, and while there was some delay, the agreement was never disturbed. Thus, the motion judge correctly granted plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration. The appellate panel affirms the order requiring the parties to engage in binding arbitration and permitting defense counsel to withdraw from representation.
