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.