Emmenegger v. Bull Moose Tube Co.

33 F. Supp. 2d 1123, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17997, 1998 WL 792572
District Court, E.D. Missouri·Decided November 12, 1998·No. 4:96CV1095 CDP·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

33 F.Supp.2d 1123 (1998)

Charles E. EMMENEGGER, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
BULL MOOSE TUBE COMPANY, et al., Defendants.

No. 4:96CV1095 CDP.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

November 12, 1998.

David W. Harlan, Partner, Melanie R. King, Gallop and Johnson, St. Louis, MO, for Charles E. Emmenegger, Robert F. Ritzie, James E. Riley.

James R. Dankenbring, Partner, Francis E. Pennington, III, Partner, Thomas W. Jerry, Francis X. Neuner, Jr., Dankenbring and Greiman, Clayton, MO, for Bull Moose Tube Company, Caparo, Inc., Bull Moose Tube, Ltd., Swraj Paul.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PERRY, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the parties' motions to correct errors in the judgment pursuant to Rule 60(a), Fed.R.Civ.P. The Court will grant the motions to the extent set forth below, and will enter an amended judgment to account therefor.

I. Background

In accordance with a memorandum opinion that it entered on July 20, 1998, and on that same date, the Court entered judgment in favor of plaintiffs Charles Emmenegger, Robert Ritzie, and James Riley on their claims of retaliatory discharge (count I of their second amended complaint), their claims for benefits under a phantom stock plan (counts II, V, and VIII), and Emmenegger and Ritzie's claims for severance pay (counts IV and VII). See Emmenegger v. *1124 Bull Moose Tube Co., 13 F.Supp.2d 980 (E.D.Mo.1998). The Court awarded Emmenegger a total of $5,094,281.00, Ritzie a total of $1,853,145.00, and Riley a total of $1,834,122.00. The Court also ordered that plaintiffs recover post-judgment interest at the legal rate of 5.375%, as well as their attorney's fees and their taxable costs. In the judgment, the Court held all defendants (i.e., Bull Moose Tube Company, Caparo, Inc., Bull Moose Tube, Ltd., and the Lord Paul of Marylebone (a/k/a Swraj Paul)) jointly and severally liable on all of the aforementioned claims. Defendants filed a notice of appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 19, 1998. On October 16, 1998, the Eighth Circuit held that appeal in abeyance for thirty days pending the filing of Rule 60(a) motions by the parties in this Court.

II. Discussion

Rule 60(a) provides as follows:

Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders or other parts of the record and errors therein arising from oversight or omission may be corrected by the court at any time of its own initiative or on the motion of any party and after such notice, if any, as the court orders. During the pendency of an appeal, such mistakes may be so corrected before the appeal is docketed in the appellate court, and thereafter while the appeal is pending may be so corrected with leave of the appellate court.

In their Rule 60(a) motion, defendants contend that the Court's judgment contains the following errors: (1) an error as to plaintiffs' claims for plan benefits in that it holds all the defendants jointly and severally liable, when those claims were brought against only Bull Moose Tube Company, Caparo, Inc., and Bull Moose Tube, Ltd., (2) a similar error involving Emmenegger and Ritzie's claims for severance pay in that it holds all the defendants jointly and severally liable, when those claims were brought against only Bull Moose Tube Company, and (3) errors in the computation of pre-judgment interest to be awarded to the three plaintiffs under their claims for plan benefits in that the Court failed to use the correct interest rate.

Plaintiffs, in their Rule 60(a) motion, agree with defendants that the Court erred in holding Swraj Paul liable on plaintiffs' claims for plan benefits, and in holding Paul, Caparo, Inc., and Bull Moose Tube, Ltd., liable on Emmenegger and Ritzie's claim for severance pay. With respect to the interest rate issue, plaintiffs argue that the Court used the proper interest rate. At the same time, however, plaintiffs claim that the Court erred in computing the interest to be awarded to Emmenegger and Riley on their claims for plan benefits. In addition, plaintiffs seek to correct clerical errors on pages 33, 34, and 35 of the July 20, 1998, memorandum opinion. Plaintiffs point out that on those pages, the Court misidentified an entity known as "Clarkson Oaks" as "Charter Oaks."[1]

After reviewing the parties' submissions and the record, the Court finds that it clearly erred in identifying the liable defendant(s) with respect to counts II, IV, V, VII, and VIII. On plaintiffs' claims for plan benefits (i.e., counts II, V, and VIII), the liable parties are Bull Moose Tube Company, Caparo, Inc., and Bull Moose Tube Ltd. On Emmenegger and Ritzie's claims for severance pay, the liable party is Bull Moose Tube Company only. The Court will correct the judgment accordingly.

The Court also agrees with defendants that it erred in not using a rate of 5.375% in computing the pre-judgment interest to which plaintiffs are entitled. In Mansker v. TMG Life Ins. Co., 54 F.3d 1322 (8th Cir. 1995), the court of appeals held that a court should use 28 U.S.C. § 1961 in determining both pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. See id. at 1331 (citing Dependahl v. Falstaff Brewing Corp., 653 F.2d 1208, 1219 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 968, 102 S.Ct. 512, 70 L.Ed.2d 384 (1981)). Section 1961(a) provides that interest shall be calculated "at a rate equal to the coupon issue yield equivalent ... of the average accepted auction price for the last auction of fifty-two week United States Treasury bills settled immediately prior to the date of the judgment." 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) (emphasis added). The date of the judgment in this case was July 20, 1998, and the then-prevailing *1125 fifty-two week Treasury bill rate was 5.375%. The Court erred by using the rates applicable when the various amounts became due, rather than the rate applicable immediately before the judgment.

Using the correct rate of interest, the Court's calculations on the plan benefits due plaintiffs are as follows:

Plaintiff Charles Emmenegger's Claim for Plan Benefits
Original shares:                                           204
Redemption value per original share:                       $17,232.91
204 shares times $17,232.91 =                              $3,515,513.64
$3,515,513.64 times 19.2053% "gross-up"[2] =            $675,164.94
Redemption value of 204 shares (including
  gross-up) =                                              $4,190,678.58
Redemption request for the original
  shares:                                                  March 12, 1996
Payment deadline for the original
  shares:                                                  May 11, 1996[3]

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Emmenegger v. Bull Moose Tube Co., 33 F. Supp. 2d 1123, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17997, 1998 WL 792572 (E.D. Mo. 1998).

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