Arbitrators

As a client of a brokerage firm, Howsam invested in four limited partnerships. These investments were made between 1986 and 1994. The client agreement signed by Howsam required all disputes with the brokerage firm to be arbitrated. When she loast money on her investments Howsam filed for arbitration, claiming the firm misrepresented the investments in the limited partnerships. The arbitration agreement has a six-year statute of limitations. The brokerage firm filed a lawsuit seeking to have the arbitration submission enjoined, since the statute of limitations had run out. Who a judge or an arbitrator makes the decision concerning the application of a statute of limitations to an arbitration proceeding? Why?