Opinion
810N
April 15, 2003.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (William Wetzel, J.), entered March 26, 2002, which, inter alia, granted the petition brought by Laszlo Tauber Associates I, LLC and 135 West 50 LLC to permanently stay arbitration, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Jeffrey Turkel, for petitioners-respondents.
John J. Gallagher, for respondent-appellant.
Before: Nardelli, J.P., Williams, Friedman, Marlow, Gonzalez, JJ.
It is evident that the arbitration clause at issue was a narrow one, leaving the threshold determination of whether the condition precedent of timely notice of disagreement with the landlord's statement was met by the tenant for judicial, rather than arbitral, resolution (see Silverstein Props., Inc. v. Paine, Webber, Jackson Curtis, Inc., 65 N.Y.2d 785). Respondent tenant's contention that the issue should be reserved for arbitration because this matter implicates interstate commerce and is thus governed by the Federal Arbitration Act is unavailing. The subject lease is for office space in a commercial building located in Manhattan and does not, by its terms, contemplate or facilitate any involvement in interstate commerce (cf. Am. Airlines, Inc. v. Louisville Jefferson County Air Bd., 269 F.2d 811).
Finally, timely notice of disagreement with the landlord's statement was a condition precedent to arbitration to which the parties agreed, and respondent tenant's request to audit the landlord's statement did not constitute notice of disagreement as required by the lease, particularly in view of the affirmative lease language to the contrary (see Matter of Jack Kent Cooke, Inc. v. Saatchi Saatchi N. Am., 222 A.D.2d 334).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.