In the Matter of the Arbitration Between Murray Siegel, Respondent, and Henry Lewis, Appellant

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's order that vacated the designated arbitrators, holding that prior relationships between arbitrators and a party, when known to the other party, do not warrant advance disqualification. The Court emphasized that parties may freely choose arbitrators and that waiver of objection occurs upon knowledge of such relationships. A concurring opinion agreed with the reversal but limited its reasoning to the necessity of the holding.