Opinion
March 15, 1999
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Rudolph, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed, with costs.
Prior to the appellant filing the request for arbitration which is the subject of this proceeding, the parties participated in an arbitration based essentially on the same purported defect in the appellant's vehicle, i.e., the braking system, in which the appellant sought the same relief against the respondent. In the absence of any new facts or evidence that the appellant was denied a full and fair opportunity to litigate his claim in the prior arbitration proceeding, the Supreme Court properly concluded that the doctrine of res judicata barred the new arbitration proceeding ( see, Matter of Lari v. Slanetz, 240 A.D.2d 581; Casey v. Country-Wide Ins. Co., 240 A.D.2d 232; Dimacopoulos v. Consort Dev. Corp., 158 A.D.2d 658).
Santucci, J. P., Joy, Friedmann and Goldstein, JJ., concur.