Spellacy v. Marine Management Inc.

The issue in this case was the brokerage fee to which the Plaintiff was entitled. The Plaintiff had negotiated a two year charter of a tug at $1,100.00 per day with an option to purchase for $900,000.00. The option to purchase was exercised. The Plaintiff argued that he was entitled to a 5% commission on the basis that he was acting for both parties to the transaction and, pursuant to industry practice, was therefore entitled to a double fee. The Court held, however, that he acted only for the owner of the tug and was therefore only entitled to a fee of 2.5% of the sum of the total charter payments and the purchase price.