Air Separation, Inc. v. Underwriters at Lloyd's of London

45 F.3d 288, 1995 WL 19451
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 6, 1994
DocketNo. 93-15275
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 45 F.3d 288 (Air Separation, Inc. v. Underwriters at Lloyd's of London) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Air Separation, Inc. v. Underwriters at Lloyd's of London, 45 F.3d 288, 1995 WL 19451 (9th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

ORDER

The memorandum disposition filed September 6, 1994, is redesignated as an authored opinion by Judge Hall.

OPINION

CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Circuit Judge:

Air Separation, Inc., the owner of an aircraft insured by Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and Participating Insurance Companies (“Underwriters”), appeals from the district court’s denial of its motion for post-judgment interest and sanctions in connection with its successful claim for payment under an insurance policy for loss by theft of avionics equipment. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I.

This case arises out of an insurance coverage dispute. On December 20,1984, avionics equipment was stolen from an aircraft owned by Air Separation and insured by Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London and Participating Insurance Companies (“Underwriters”). Although Air Separation was the designated loss-payee under the insurance policy, Underwriters paid the claim to a company that was leasing the aircraft. Air Separation sued Underwriters to recover under the policy, and the district court found Underwriters responsible to Air Separation for the amount of the loss, costs, and prejudgment interest, as well as postjudgment interest.1

Underwriters appealed from the court’s judgment. On December 5, 1991, before the appeal was concluded, the district court stayed execution of the judgment and ordered Underwriters to post a $200,000 bond. Underwriters never posted bond, and on June 17,1992, this court affirmed the district court’s judgment, 967 F.2d 583 (9th Cir.1992).

On June 22, 1992, Air Separation’s counsel submitted to Underwriters a letter calculating the amount due on the judgment at $271,-336.14, including postjudgment interest of $15,014.77 if paid by Thursday, June 25, 1992, plus $32.37 per day thereafter. On June 26, 1992, realizing that a mistake had been made because the calculation did not include postjudgment interest on the prejudgment interest component of the award, Air Separation’s counsel faxed a correction letter and a new figure to Underwriters. Air Separation’s counsel also spoke to Underwriters’ counsel regarding the miscalculation.

On either July 7 or 9, 1993, Air Separation’s counsel received a check from Underwriters in the amount of $271,727.03 as set forth in Air Separation’s withdrawn letter. Air Separation’s counsel subsequently informed Underwriters that the check was insufficient because it did not include post-judgment interest on the prejudgment interest award as explained in the second letter.

After Underwriters indicated that it would not pay postjudgment interest on the prejudgment interest award, Air Separation, on August 27, 1992, filed a motion in the district court requesting immediate payment and sanctions. On January 4, 1993, the district court denied Air Separation’s motion. Air Separation appeals.

II.

Air Separation contends that the district court erred by not interpreting 28 U.S.C. § 1961, which mandates that “[ijnterest shall be allowed on any money judgment [290]*290in a civil case recovered in a district court,” to require that postjudgment interest be paid on all elements of a money judgment, including prejudgment interest. Elements of statutory interpretation that inform the district court’s decisions are reviewed de novo. Oviatt v. Pearce, 954 F.2d 1470, 1481 (9th Cir.1992).

Under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1961, postjudgment interest on a district court judgment is mandatory. See Perkins v. Standard Oil Co., 487 F.2d 672, 674 (9th Cir.1973). “The purpose .of awarding interest to a party recovering a money judgment is ... to compensate the wronged person for being deprived of the monetary value of the loss-” Turner v. Japan Lines, Ltd., 702 F.2d 752, 756 (9th Cir.1983); see also Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp. v. Bonjorno, 494 U.S. 827, 834, 110 S.Ct. 1570, 1575, 108 L.Ed.2d 842 (1990) (“the policy underlying the postjudgment interest statute .[is] compensation of the plaintiff for the loss of the use of the money”). Costs of the loss of use of a money judgment should not be borne by the injured plaintiff, but by the “defendant whose initial wrongful conduct invoked the judicial process and who has had the use of the money judgment throughout the period of delay.” Perkins, 487 F.2d at 676; see also Devex Corp. v. General Motors Corp., 577 F.Supp. 429, 433 (D.Del.1983) (reasoning that because money has time value, the only way to make a party whole is to award interest from the time the party should have received the money.”), aff'd, 749 F.2d 1020 (3d Cir.1984), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 819, 106 S.Ct. 68, 88 L.Ed.2d 55 (1985). Failure to award post-judgment interest would create an incentive for defendants to exploit the time value of money by frivolously appealing or otherwise delaying payment. See Bailey v. Chattem, Inc., 838 F.2d 149, 152 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1059, 108 S.Ct. 2831, 100 L.Ed.2d 931 (1988); R.W.T. v. Dalton, 712 F.2d 1225, 1235 (8th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1009, 104 S.Ct. 527, 78 L.Ed.2d 710 (1983).

In light of these considerations, this Court has determined that “once a judgment is obtained, interest thereon is mandatory without regard to the elements of which that judgment is composed.” Perkins, 487 F.2d at 675; see also 28 U.S.C. § 1961 (interest “allowed on any money judgment”) (emphasis added); Wheeler v. John Deere Co., 986 F.2d 413, 415 (10th Cir.1993) (quoting Perkins). Accordingly, postjudgment interest has been applied to attorneys’ fees, Perkins, 487 F.2d at 675; costs, Wheeler, 986 F.2d at 425; punitive damages, Brown v. Petrolite Corp., 965 F.2d 38, 51 (5th Cir.1992); exemplary damages, id.; and fraud penalties. In re Resyn Corp., 945 F.2d 1279, 1284 (3d Cir.1991).

Most important, it is well-established in other circuits that postjudgment interest also applies to the prejudgment interest component of a district court’s monetary judgment. See Quesinberry v. Life Ins. Co. of North America,

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