Opinion
October 1, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Bertram Katz, J.).
Contrary to respondents' untenable reading, the arbitral award did direct reinstatement of Berisha, and there was no specific limitation in the arbitration clause preventing the arbitrator from fashioning such relief ( see, Matter of Board of Educ. v. Arlington Teachers Assn., 78 N.Y.2d 33, 37). Respondents' contention in their initial application that Berisha was a "probationary" employee not entitled to reinstatement was unsupported by any evidentiary showing, and did not rest upon the only rational interpretation of the applicable collective bargaining agreement. To the extent the arbitrator's letter denying reconsideration might support respondents' position, the IAS Court properly refused to consider it as "new" evidence on respondents' motion to renew, since its unavailability on respondents' prior motions was solely attributable to respondents' own lack of diligence.
Concur — Lerner, P.J., Wallach, Rubin and Saxe, JJ.