Originally from ADR and the Law - 21st Edition

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The Second Circuit held that the parties to arbitration must expressly agree to a post-judgment interest rate other than the statutory rate. Post-judgment interest starts accruing only after the amount of the judgment is meaningfully ascertained. Westinghouse Credit Corp. v. D’Urso, 371 F.3d 96 (2d Cir. 2004).
This case arose from the sale of a chain of supermarkets by Florence D’Urso to a buyer who financed part of the purchase through Westinghouse Credit Corp. The sales contract called for post-closing adjustments and provided that any disputes involving post-closing adjustments should be resolved in arbitration. It also provided that any award must be paid in 10 days and contained an interest provision in the event the award was not paid on the due date. It stated that in that event, interest shall be added to the amount due “from the date payment was due to the date payment is made,” at the prime rate (then 10.5%) plus 5%.