IN RE: Chenggong (Jason) MA (2022)

Appeal from order, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol R. Edmead, J.), entered July 20, 2021, which granted the petition pursuant to CPLR 7510 to confirm an arbitration award, dated November 23, 2020, and denied respondent's cross petition to vacate the award, deemed appeal from judgment, same court and Justice, entered October 13, 2021, awarding petitioner the total sum of $408,604.24 against respondent, and, as so considered, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Respondent challenges the confirmation of an arbitration award that rejected his request for sanctions based on his allegations that petitioner committed perjury during the arbitration proceeding.  Respondent's disagreement with the arbitrator's conclusion that petitioner did not give perjurious testimony or false responses to discovery demands was not a proper basis for setting aside the arbitration award under CPLR 7511(b)(1) or on grounds of public policy.  “Generally speaking, courts will not second-guess the factual findings or the legal conclusions of the arbitrator” (Matter of Board of Hampton House Condominium v. Rora LLC, 182 A.D.3d 456, 120 N.Y.S.3d 627 [1st Dept. 2020][internal quotation marks omitted]).  Respondent has not offered sufficient reason why an exception to that rule exists in this proceeding.  Furthermore, courts may not substitute their own credibility determinations for those of the arbitrator (see Matter of Noralez v. New York City Dept. of Educ., 187 A.D.3d 475, 476, 130 N.Y.S.3d 291 [1st Dept. 2020]).

Respondent's contention that the court should have vacated the award because the arbitrator irrationally refused to sanction petitioner pursuant to CPLR 3126 for willful failure to disclose pertinent information is unavailing.  There was at least “a barely colorable justification” for the arbitrator's conclusion that there was a lack of competent evidence to support respondent's claim of false discovery disclosures (Wien & Malkin LLP v. Helmsley–Spear, Inc., 6 N.Y.3d 471, 479, 813 N.Y.S.2d 691, 846 N.E.2d 1201 [2006] [internal quotation marks omitted], cert dismissed 548 U.S. 940, 127 S.Ct. 34, 165 L.Ed.2d 1012 [2006]).