Opinion
April 25, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Helen Freedman, J.).
At bar, the appraiser was appointed before a 1982 amendment to Business Corporation Law § 623 (h), forbidding courts in special proceedings brought pursuant to that section from ordering a "referral to an appraiser or referee". The IAS Court properly declined to give retroactive application to the amendment, there being no clear expression of legislative purpose to justify a retroactive application of this procedural statute, since such application would affect proceedings already taken in such actions (see, Simonson v International Bank, 14 N.Y.2d 281, 289). Once a forum for a dispute has been fixed, there should be no retroactive application of an enactment that would change that forum, whether the change be from one administrative agency to another (see, Matter of Ehrlich v New York City Conciliation Appeals Bd., 124 Misc.2d 217, 218-219, affd 110 A.D.2d 501, revd on other grounds 67 N.Y.2d 622), from a plenary action to arbitration (see, National House Cleaning Contrs. v Bobaluc, 251 App. Div. 401, 402, appeal dismissed 276 N.Y. 533), from Supreme Court to the Court of Claims (see, Strang v State of New York, 206 Misc. 734, appeal dismissed 285 App. Div. 1117), or from a court-appointed appraiser to the court itself. The form of the remedy is determined as of the time it is sought or invoked (see, Matter of Barker, 230 N.Y. 364, 372).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Rosenberger, Wallach, Kupferman and Tom, JJ.