CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT PROVISION MAKING LITIGATION THE SOLE METHOD FOR RESOLVING A DISPUTE RENDERED VOID BY GENERAL BUSINESS LAW. 

The Third Department determined the General Business Law rendered void a provision in a construction subcontract mandating litigation as the sole method for resolving a dispute:

… General Business Law § 757 (3) … unambiguously voids and renders unenforceable any contractual provision that makes expedited arbitration unavailable to one or both parties. … [T]he obvious function of section 6.2 of the subcontract is to establish litigation as the sole legal option for the resolution of disputes under the subcontract, which, in turn, denies both parties the opportunity to arbitrate such claims. Inasmuch as General Business Law § 757 (3) clearly operates to void and render unenforceable the subcontract's dispute resolution provision, we find that Supreme Court properly denied petitioner's application to stay arbitration. Matter of Capital Siding & Constr., LLC (Alltek Energy Sys., Inc.), 2016 NY Slip Op 02878, 3rd Dept 4-14-16