Opinion
2022-01415 Index 657608/19
03-08-2022
Robin Roach, New York (Aaron S. Amaral of counsel), for appellants. Georgia M. Pestana, Corporation Counsel, New York (Jane L. Gordon of counsel), for respondents.
Robin Roach, New York (Aaron S. Amaral of counsel), for appellants.
Georgia M. Pestana, Corporation Counsel, New York (Jane L. Gordon of counsel), for respondents.
Before: Acosta, P.J., Renwick, Webber, Kern, Friedman, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Melissa A. Crane, J.), entered March 11, 2021, which denied the petition to vacate an arbitration award upholding the termination of Galvin Dudley from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and dismissed the petition brought pursuant to CPLR article 75, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Petitioners failed to meet their burden of establishing, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of fraud or misconduct sufficient to warrant vacatur of the arbitration award under CPLR 7511(b)(1)(i) (see Matter of Field v BDO USA, LLP, 129 A.D.3d 497 [1st Dept 2015]; Financial Clearing & Servs. Corp. v Katz, 172 A.D.2d 290 [1st Dept 1991]). The record is insufficient to establish that DPR intentionally concealed video evidence during the arbitration proceedings. In any event, petitioners failed to demonstrate that the video evidence materially related to an issue in arbitration since, as the arbitrator determined, the hearing testimony was sufficient to uphold DPR's termination of Dudley even without the video evidence (see Imgest Fin. Establishment v Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc., 172 A.D.2d 291 [1st Dept 1991]; see also Sorrentino v Weinman, 50 A.D.3d 305 [1st Dept 2008]).
We have considered petitioners' remaining contentions and find them unavailing.