Joseph Kahan – Arbitration Award Vacated

Representation of Joseph Kahan in successfully petitioning the Kings County Supreme Court to vacate a rabbinical court's arbitration award regarding competing claims to real properties in Brooklyn and other assets. The arbitration agreement provided that the parties could proceed only with counsel acceptable to the arbitrators. Kahan participated in the arbitration even after the arbitrators rejected his proposed counsel and insisted that he could proceed only with counsel they would select for him. Initially, Kahan proceeded without counsel at all, but as the matter progressed, he realized that the arbitrators' procedures were unfair and he withdrew from the arbitration before the panel ruled. Describing its ruling as one of first impression under New York law, the court agreed that the arbitrators had denied Kahan the right to counsel of his choice, and overturned the award. This case was featured in the November 24^th 2009 edition of the New York Law Journal. (26 Misc.3d 615, 889 N.Y.S.2d 839 (2009))