Under both New York and federal law, a party is entitled to seek
an order to compel arbitration if it is "aggrieved" by
another party's failure to arbitrate a dispute despite being
bound to do so. But what does it mean for a party to be
"aggrieved" for those purposes? Specifically, is it
necessary for a lawsuit to have been commenced by the recalcitrant
counter-party? Or is it enough that a party simply refuses to
engage in arbitration voluntarily?
New York State law in particular is not settled on this basic
question, which creates a dilemma for a party seeking to arbitrate
against a party that is unresponsive and declines to engage. What
happens if you demand arbitration against another party and there
is no response? If the putative respondent is clearly a party
signatory to an applicable arbitration agreement, most administered
arbitration rules enable you to proceed with the arbitration
whether or not the respondent participates, provided adequate
notices are
