If the arbitration agreement does not provide for a method of appointment of an arbitrator, or if the agreed method fails or for any reason is not followed, or if an arbitrator fails to act and his successor has not been appointed, the court, on application of a party, shall appoint an arbitrator.
§ 7504.Court appointment of arbitrator
Article 75. Arbitration · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7504 lets a court step in and appoint an arbitrator whenever the parties' agreement doesn't spell out how to pick one, their chosen method breaks down, or a sitting arbitrator can't continue and no replacement has been named.
Full Text of CPLR 7504
Plain-English Summary
Arbitration depends on having an arbitrator, and CPLR 7504 makes sure a gap in the selection process never strands a case. If the parties' agreement is silent on how to choose an arbitrator, or the method they wrote down doesn't work in practice, or an arbitrator stops acting and no one has named a successor, either party can ask the court to appoint one.
The section is deliberately narrow. It doesn't give courts a general power to pick arbitrators whenever they wish — the gap has to come from a real failure in the agreed process, or from a vacancy nobody has filled. The statute itself says nothing about conditions on that appointment or about what happens to any hearing already underway; it directs the court to name an arbitrator once one of these three gaps appears.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my arbitration agreement doesn't say how to pick an arbitrator?
Under CPLR 7504, either party may ask the court to appoint an arbitrator when the agreement doesn't provide a method for choosing one.
Can a court appoint a replacement arbitrator if one drops out mid-case?
Yes. CPLR 7504 authorizes the court to appoint an arbitrator when a sitting arbitrator fails to act and no successor has been named.
What if the method our contract sets out for choosing an arbitrator doesn't work?
CPLR 7504 covers that situation too — if the agreed method “fails or for any reason is not followed,” the court may appoint an arbitrator in its place.
Does CPLR 7504 say what happens to testimony already taken before a new arbitrator is appointed?
No. CPLR 7504 addresses only the court's power to appoint an arbitrator when the agreed method fails or a vacancy goes unfilled; it says nothing about whether prior proceedings must be repeated.
How do I ask a New York court to appoint an arbitrator?
You bring an application under CPLR 7504, following the special-proceeding or motion procedure and venue rules set out in CPLR 7502(a).
Advisory Committee Notes
This section follows CPA § 1452. The court may appoint an arbitrator on terms; for example, it may order that testimony be reheard before the new arbitrator. CPA § 1453 and the last clause of CPA § 1452 have been omitted as unnecessary. The use of the word arbitrator includes arbitrators. See Gen Constr Law § 35. The word “motion” has been replaced by “application” since the application will be a petition commencing a special proceeding if it is the first application arising out of the arbitration and will be a motion if it is any subsequent application. See § 7502(a).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: court appointed arbitrator New Yorkarbitrator selection fails New Yorkreplace arbitrator New Yorkappoint arbitrator when agreement silent