SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Committee Substitute House Bill 2678 History

OTHER VERSIONS  -  Introduced Version  |  Enrolled Version - Final Version  |     |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

WEST virginia legislature

2017 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 2678

By Delegates Anderson, Arvon, Overington, G. Foster, R. Romine, Householder, Upson and Shott

[Introduced February 23, 2017; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

  A BILL to amend and reenact §56-6-31 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the rate of interest allowed for prejudgment and post-judgment interest; providing that every judgment or decree for the payment of money entered by any court of this state shall bear simple interest; providing that the court may award prejudgment interest on all or some of the amount of the special or liquidated damages; defining special damages; proving that if an obligation is based upon a written agreement, then the obligation bears prejudgment interest at the rate and terms set forth in the written agreement until the date the judgment or decree is entered; providing that the rate of prejudgment interest is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the right to bring the action has accrued; providing that the court will determine that prejudgment interest rate and that the determined rate shall remain constant from that date until the date of the judgment or decree; providing that the rate of prejudgment interest may not exceed nine percent per annum or be less than four percent per annum; requiring that the administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the prejudgment interest rate and take appropriate measures to notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect; creating an exception to how prejudgment interest is calculated for cases in which the right to bring the action accrued prior to 2009; providing that the rate of post-judgment interest is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the judgment or decree is entered; providing that the rate of post-judgment interest may not exceed nine percent per annum or be less than four percent per annum; requiring that the administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the post-judgment interest rate and take appropriate measures to notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect; and stating that the amendments to this section become effective January 1, 2018.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


That §56-6-31 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 6. TRIAL.

§56-6-31. Interest on judgment or decree.


 (a) Except where it is otherwise provided by law, every judgment or decree for the payment of money, whether in an action sounding in tort, contract or otherwise, entered by any court of this state shall bear interest from the date thereof, whether it be so stated in the judgment or decree or not: Provided, That if the judgment or decree, or any part thereof, is for special damages, as defined below, or for liquidated damages, the amount of special or liquidated damages shall bear interest at the rate in effect for the calendar year in which the right to bring the same shall have accrued, as determined by the court and that established rate shall remain constant from that date until the date of the judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the federal reserve district discount rate in effect in subsequent years prior to the date of the judgment or decree. Special damages includes lost wages and income, medical expenses, damages to tangible personal property and similar out-of-pocket expenditures, as determined by the court. If an obligation is based upon a written agreement, the obligation shall bear a prejudgment interest at the rate set forth in the written agreement until the date the judgment or decree is entered and, thereafter, the judgment interest rate shall be the same rate as provided for in this section.

(a) Except where it is otherwise provided by law, every judgment or decree for the payment of money, whether in an action sounding in tort, contract, or otherwise, entered by any court of this state shall bear simple, not compounding, interest, whether it is stated in the judgment decree or not.

(b) Prejudgment – In any judgment or decree that contains special damages, as defined below, or for liquidated damages, the court may award prejudgment interest on all or some of the amount of the special or liquidated damages, as calculated after the amount of any settlements. Any such amounts of special or liquidated damages shall bear simple, not compounding, interest. Special damages include lost wages and income, medical expenses, damages to tangible personal property and similar out-of-pocket expenditures, as determined by the court. If an obligation is based upon a written agreement, the obligation bears prejudgment interest at the rate and terms set forth in the written agreement until the date the judgment or decree is entered and, after that, the judgment interest is the same rate as provided for below in subsection (c) of this section.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, the rate of prejudgment interest is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the right to bring the action has accrued, as determined by the court and that established rate shall remain constant from that date until the date of the judgement or decree, notwithstanding changes in the federal reserve district discount rate in effect in subsequent years prior to the date of the judgment or decree: Provided, That the rate of the prejudgment interest may not exceed nine percent per annum or be less than four percent per annum. The administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the prejudgment interest rate to be paid upon judgment or decrees for the payment of money and shall take appropriate measures to notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect for the calendar year in question. Once the rate of prejudgment interest is established as provided in this section, that established rate shall remain constant for the prejudgment interest for that particular judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the Federal Reserve District discount rate in effect in subsequent years.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1) of this section and section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, for all cases in which the right to bring the action accrued prior to 2009, the court may award prejudgment interest on all or some of the amount of the special or liquidated damages, as calculated after the amount of any settlement, at the interest rate that was in effect as of January 2, of the year in which the right to bring the action accrued.

(b) (c) Post-judgment - Notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, the rate of post-judgment interest on judgments and decrees for the payment of money, including prejudgment interest, is three two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the judgment or decree is entered: Provided, That the rate of prejudgment and post-judgment interest shall may not exceed eleven nine percent per annum or be less than seven four percent per annum. The administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the post-judgment interest rate to be paid upon judgments or decrees for the payment of money and shall take appropriate measures to promptly notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect for the calendar year in question. Once the rate of interest is established by a judgment or decree as provided in this section that established rate shall thereafter after that remain constant for that particular judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the Federal Reserve District discount rate in effect in subsequent years.

(c) (d) Amendments to this section enacted by the Legislature during the 2006 2017 regular session shall become effective January 1, 2007 2018.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the amounts of prejudgment and post-judgment interest to reflect today's economic conditions.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

 

This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print