Judge Paul Crotty
Under their "Introducing Broker Agreement" retail foreign exchange dealer FXDirectDealer (FXDD) would pay PremiereTradeForex (PT) a brokerage fee or commission for foreign exchange customers it introduced to FXDD. An arbitrator found FXDD owed PT fees that were not paid by customers that FXDD admitted introducing to PT. Thereafter, audit firm Titus calculated the rebates owed. Granting PT’s petition, district court confirmed the arbitrator’s $1.24 million award comprising $945,612 in Category 1 and Category 2 damages, $177,346 in costs, and $122,040 in attorney’s fees plus post-award pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest. The court rejected FXDD’s claim that the arbitrators exceeded their authority by rewriting the agreementwhich calculated certain rebates in "pips." The court found nothing objectionable in using plain English to express the calculation of the amount owed, which were going to be paid in dollars, not "pips." In rejecting FXDD’s bid to subtract $316,407 in Category 1 damages, the court rejected its claim that the issue was first raised in post-hearing closing briefs. The court further observed that the arbitration clause in the parties’ agreement plainly included attorney’s fees.
