In re the Arbitration between First National Oil Corp. & Arrieta

2 Misc. 2d 225, 151 N.Y.S.2d 309, 1956 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2031
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 16, 1956
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2 Misc. 2d 225 (In re the Arbitration between First National Oil Corp. & Arrieta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re the Arbitration between First National Oil Corp. & Arrieta, 2 Misc. 2d 225, 151 N.Y.S.2d 309, 1956 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2031 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1956).

Opinion

Pette, J.

This is a motion to vacate the award in arbitration, dated October 28, 1955, in favor of the respondents, comprising a partnership doing business as Florida Molasses Company, in the sum of $82,752.79 without interest.

Petitioner claims that the arbitrators made obvious mistakes in calculations when determining the damages sustained by respondents, or they were guilty of partiality toward them in connection with the foregoing. Petitioner also contends that the arbitrators exceeded their powers and that the award made by them is invalid because one of the respondent partners, Joseph A. Lopez, Jr., died after the submission, but prior to the award, and no steps were taken to join his executor, administrator or temporary administrator.

The respondents contend that there is no merit to the foregoing contentions; that the arbitration herein is solely within the jurisdiction of a Court of Admiralty and in any event, that this application is premature because of the pendency before the arbitrators of an application by the petitioner for the reconsideration of alleged errors in the award concerning the amount of molasses lost through petitioner’s fault.

The arbitration was held in accordance with the provisions of an arbitration agreement, contained in a charter party, between the petitioner and the respondents, which provided for the transportation of a cargo of black strap molasses from several ports in Puerto Rico to Jacksonville, Florida. The arbitration agreement, in part, provided as follows: ‘‘ Any and all differences and disputes of whatsoever nature arising out of this Charter shall be put to arbitration in the City of New York pursuant to the laws relating to arbitration there in force * * * In the event that the two arbitrators fail to appoint a third arbitrator within twenty days of the appointment of the second arbitrator, either arbitrator may apply to a Judge of any court of maritime jurisdiction in the city above mentioned for the appointment of a third arbitrator ”. (Emphasis supplied.) Because of the language emphasized above for the appointment of a third arbitrator if the two designated by the [228]*228parties failed to do so, the respondents contend that only the District Court of the United States for the district wherein the arbitration was held has jurisdiction.

It is clear, however, that by virtue of the saving to suitors clause contained in section 1333 of title 28 of the United States Code, that this court has concurrent jurisdiction with the United States courts in arbitration proceedings, notwithstanding that they arise out of so-called maritime contracts. Mr. Justice Brandeis observed in Red Gross Line v. Atlantic Fruit Co. (264 U. S. 109, 123): “ By reason of the saving clause, state courts have jurisdiction in personam, concurrent with the admiralty courts, of all causes of action maritime in their nature arising under charter parties ”. (See, also, Madruga v. Superior Court, 346 U. S. 556, 561.)

In addition, the opening sentence in the arbitration clause — “Any and all differences and disputes * * * arising * * * shall be put to arbitration in the City of New York pursuant to the laws relating to arbitration there in force ’ ’ — shows that the parties intended that the arbitration of any disputes arising out of the charter party should be subject to the New York State arbitration statute.

As for the respondents’ claim that this application is premature, it is clear that the comprehensive 25-page written award, concurred in by the three arbitrators and signed by them on October 28, 1955 was the final award within the meaning of section 1460 of the Civil Practice Act. The efficacy of this award is not affected by the subsequent correspondence from the respective attorneys to the arbitrator designated by the two whom the parties had chosen and by that arbitrator’s statement to one of the attorneys for the respondents that the arbitrators were willing to consider counsel’s contentions. It should be noted, moreover, that one seeking to vacate, modify or correct an award in arbitration must do so by timely motion, as provided by section 1463 of the Civil Practice Act — within three months after the award is filed or delivered. Therefore, it would have been improvident, to say the least, for the petitioner to have delayed its motion beyond the three-month period.

As for petitioner’s claim that the death of one of the respondent partners subsequent to the submission, but before the award, constituted a revocation and termination of the arbitration proceedings, the court is of the opinion that it is without merit. True, section 1468 of the Civil Practice Act provides that proceedings may be begun or continued subsequent to the death of a party to a submission or a contract upon the application [229]*229of, or upon notice to, his legal representative, and that ordinarily the death of a party to an action or proceeding results in a suspension of all activity therein until a substitution is made for the deceased party. (Reilly v. Hart, 130 N. Y. 625, 628; Angelo v. Angelo, 282 App. Div. 981.) Here, however, the deceased was one of six partners of the respondent Florida Molasses Company and the New York arbitration statute makes no provision for any change of parties where, as here, one side to the arbitral dispute is a partnership, one of whose partners died after the hearings were concluded and the dispute submitted for decision by the arbitrators. As stated in CarmodyWait Cyclopedia of New York Practice (Vol. 2, § 16, p. 82): “ Where, on the death of one of several coplaintiffs or codefendants, the whole right of action or ground of relief survives in favor of or against the other plaintiffs or defendants, it is not necessary to bring in the representative or successor in interest of the deceased party in order to continue a pending action; for the whole cause of action in such case has vested in the survivors. Such is the case of the death of one or two or more executors, trustees, or joint tenants during the pendency of a suit by or against them. Likewise, where two partners sue on a partnership debt, since each partner alone fully owns and represents the cause of action, if one partner dies, the surviving partner may proceed with the action. And in an action against two copartners where the liability is joint or joint and several, if one of the defendants dies pending the action, the plaintiff may proceed against the surviving defendant.” Furthermore, the award under these circumstances may be deemed to have been made nunc pro tunc as of the time of the original submission of the controversy for decision by the arbitrators, notwithstanding the subsequent death of one of the six respondent partners. (Angelo v. Angelo, 283 App. Div. 588 and the authorities cited, p. 590.)

The award here involved was made on a claim by the respondents of a shortage of Puerto Pican black strap molasses, and other items of damage caused by petitioner, as carrier, in the process of discharging the cargo from its tankship S.S. George Ogden at respondents’ plant in Jacksonville, Florida, in May, 1948. The vessel’s total tank capacity was 1,900,000 gallons, but she loaded a total of 1,779,289 gallons.

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2 Misc. 2d 225, 151 N.Y.S.2d 309, 1956 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2031, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-arbitration-between-first-national-oil-corp-arrieta-nysupct-1956.