Opinion
March 7, 2000
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Herman Cahn, J.), entered August 30, 1999, which, inter alia, denied petitioner's application for a permanent stay of arbitration and directed the parties to proceed to arbitration, unanimously affirmed, with costs.
Charles S. Sims, for petitioner-appellant.
Eugene L. Girden, for respondents-respondents.
NARDELLI, J.P., WILLIAMS, ELLERIN, WALLACH, SAXE, JJ.
The parties were properly directed to proceed to arbitration. Arbitration agreements are favored in the law, and, accordingly, arbitration should not be stayed unless the arbitration clause cannot be reasonably interpreted to cover the disputed matter (see, The Harriman Group, Inc. v. Napolitano, 213 A.D.2d 159, 163,citing Coudert v. Paine Webber Jackson Curtis, 705 F.2d 78, 81,citing United Steelworkers of Am. v. Warrior Gulf Navigation, 363 U.S. 574,). Respondent's claims, properly construed, sound in breach of contract (see, IBM Credit Fin. Corp. v. Mazda Motor Mfg., 152 A.D.2d 451, 453) and, having accrued within six years of the demand for arbitration, are timely.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.