Facts

Claimant Lisa Arie, formerly known as Lisa Dee, started an advertising production company in New York in the early 1990s. In our around 2008, her company was acquired by respondent TEAM Acquisition Corp., a large entertainment payroll and business affairs company based in Burbank.

As part of the acquisition, Arie was kept on as the president of the advertising production company, now a division of TEAM, for a two-year period. Incentives were built into the agreement whereby if that division achieved certain profit goals during that two-year period, Arie would receive additional compensation.

After the two-year period had expired, TEAM determined that the profit goals had not been met and denied that it owed any bonus to Arie.

TEAM claimed that the division lost money during the first year and earned only a small profit during the second. Both TEAM's CEO and CFO testified at the arbitration in support of TEAM's position.

Arie disputed those numbers and contended that TEAM had exceeded the profit goals set by the agreement. Arie claimed that TEAM's calculation of the profit achieved was based on a misinterpretation of the defined methodology under the agreement between the parties. Arie claimed that under a proper interpretation of that agreement, a payment of $1 million was due to her, plus interest, costs and attorney's fees.

Result

$1,526,681 to Arie. Judge Lourdes G. Baird ruled that Arie's interpretation of the agreement was correct, that the profit goals had been met, and awarded a payment of $1 million to Arie, plus interest, costs and attorney fees.