Q: Understanding court order after arbitration loss in NY

A: I'm sorry this happened to you. It isn't clear if you received a copy of the arbitration decision. You may want to obtain a copy of the decision from the hosting entity (American Arbitration Association, or other). If you contact the Case Administrator, they should be able to provide guidance there. It isn't clear why you didn't attend - whether allowing your attorney to appear on your behalf or choosing to rely on submissions. If you had an attorney on the matter, they would be the best starting point. Good luck

A: The key issue in responding to you is whether you "participated" in the arbitration. You say both that you were "involved in an arbitration" and that you "[weren't] present [at the arbitration] to defend yourself." Participating can be an issue of fact, so you need to provide specifics: Did you make arguments by letter or orally? Did you submit documents to the Arbitrator? The reason why this is significant is that a party who receives an arbitration award must still "confirm" that award by moving by motion pursuant to article 75 of the CPLR to make that award into a judgment. Until a Court confirms the Award, it is not enforceable. A party that has participated in an arbitration can raise fewer arguments against confirmation than a party that has participated. Since I don't know the specific circumstances, I cannot advise you whether to take the offer from the other side. The fact that they are offering to have you pay before confirming the Award is a sign of weakness, but it could also be good for you since arbitration awards are private and only when they file the motion to confirm would that conceivably affect your credit standing.

A: They need to make a motion in court to confirm the award. Often when that happens, the other side cross-moves to vacate the award on one or more grounds. You need to get a lawyer to do that for you so that you can revisit the proceeding. You don't say if you appeared at the arbitration or not. If you did, your grounds for vacatur are generally limited to those contained in CPLR 7510.

A: That letter likely means the company is planning to file the arbitration award with the court to convert it into a formal judgment. In New York, once an arbitration award is confirmed by a court, it becomes legally enforceable just like any other judgment. That means they could try to collect through wage garnishment, bank levies, or other legal methods if the court grants their request.

Since you weren’t present at the arbitration, you may want to review why you weren’t notified or if you had valid reasons for missing it. If you believe you didn’t receive proper notice or were unable to participate for a justifiable reason, you might have limited grounds to challenge the award before it’s confirmed. However, there are strict deadlines for doing this—usually within 90 days of the award being issued.

Your next step should be to request a full copy of the arbitration decision and check the date it was issued. From there, you can decide whether to respond to the court filing or negotiate a payment plan directly with the company. This situation feels overwhelming, but you still have options—you just need to act quickly and stay informed.