Louis F. Burke PC v. Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C.

2017 NY Slip Op 84, 146 A.D.3d 452, 43 N.Y.S.3d 754

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: January 5, 2017
• Docket: 2655 653038/15
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order and judgment (one paper), Supreme Court, New York County (Charles E. Ramos, J.), entered April 26, 2016, which granted the petition to stay arbitration of the parties’ dispute concerning the division of legal fees, permanently stayed an arbitration proceeding commenced by respondent, and awarded petitioner $6,325 in costs and attorneys’ fees, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

Respondent failed to “demonstrate a clear and unequivocal agreement to arbitrate” the parties’ dispute (Gerling Global Reins. Corp. v Home Ins. Co., 302 AD2d 118, 123 [1st Dept 2002], lv denied 99 NY2d 511 [2003] [internal quotation marks omitted]). Pursuant to a joint prosecution agreement, petitioner and respondent, jointly referred to in the agreement as “Burke/ Gray,” were to act as cocounsel, with another firm, in a class action lawsuit. Burke/Gray, as a unit, and the other firm, were to each receive 50% of the legal fees awarded in that action. Although paragraph eight of the agreement contains a broad arbitration clause encompassing “[a]ny dispute [t]hereunder,” the agreement does not address the allocation of legal fees as between the parties in this action.

We have considered respondent’s remaining arguments and find them unavailing.

Concur — Acosta, J.P., Mazzarelli, Andrias, Feinman and Webber, JJ.