Clear Arbitration Provision Deemed Enforceable
In his Petes’ Take blog for Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, Peter J. Gallagher describes a New Jersey case in which a court ruled that a clear arbitration provision, negotiated by a sophisticated party while represented by counsel, is enforceable.
In Columbus Circle NJ LLC v. Island Construction Co., LLC, the appellate court held that the arbitration provision in the AIA contract used in this case satisfied the requirements to explain to the signer the possible consequences of giving up the right to adjudication in a court of law, Gallagher explains.
“By its terms, the provision required plaintiff to choose between arbitration and ‘litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction,’ therefore, when plaintiff chose ‘arbitration,’ it did so ‘with full knowledge that arbitration [was] a substitute for the right to have [its] claim adjudicated in court.’ Moreover, the Appellate Division noted that neither the LLC nor its sole member was ‘an average member of the public,'” according to Gallagher.