WILSON v. WALLACE LLC (2019)

Supreme Court, Appellate Term, New York.

Valerie WILSON, Appellant, v. Michael WALLACE and Wallace Home Improvement, LLC, Respondents.

2018-973 Q C

Decided: December 20, 2019

PRESENT: MICHAEL L. PESCE, P.J., DAVID ELLIOT, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ.

Valerie Wilson, appellant pro se. Michael Wallace and Wallace Home Improvement, LLC, respondents pro se.

ORDERED that the judgment is reversed, without costs, the action is reinstated and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for a new trial.

Plaintiff, a homeowner, commenced this small claims action to recover the sum of $1,500 for breach of a contract to install new flooring. At a nonjury trial, the Civil Court, after taking testimony from both sides, dismissed the action on the ground that the contract has an arbitration clause and that no arbitration had been held, even though neither party had raised that point. However, as plaintiff argues on appeal, the contract has an additional clause which states that “[i]n the state of New York, the residential consumer shall have the option of electing to resolve any dispute between the parties in a court of proper jurisdiction rather than submit to an arbitration.” Consequently, the Civil Court erred when it dismissed the action based upon the arbitration clause.

Accordingly, the judgment is reversed, the action is reinstated and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for a new trial.

PESCE, P.J., ELLIOT and SIEGAL, JJ., concur.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.

Go To Learn About The Law