Opinion ID: 1702585
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether helen should be awarded penalties in the amount of 15 percent of the judgment entered by the lower court plus interest.

Text: ¶ 22. Helen requests that this Court assess a penalty plus interest on the judgment. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-3-23 (Rev.2002) provides in pertinent part: In case the judgment or decree of the court below is affirmed, or the appellant fails to prosecute his appeal to effect, the supreme court shall render judgment against the appellant for damages, at the rate of fifteen percent (15%), as follows: (1) the decree or judgment appealed from must have been final; (2) the decree or judgment must have been affirmed unconditionally; and (3) the only matter complained of must have been the decree or some particular property or claim on it. See Greenlee v. Mitchell, 607 So.2d 97, 112 (Miss.1992). When the statutory requisites are met, the imposition of the statutory penalty for damages is mandatory. Old Sec. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Clemmer, 458 So.2d 732, 733 (Miss.1984). Statutory penalties apply only to an unconditional affirmance. See Benson v. Benson, 749 So.2d 75, 76 (Miss.1999). Because this Court orders that this matter be reversed and remanded for consideration of the issue of marital distribution, the prerequisite that the matter be unconditionally affirmed fails. Therefore, § 11-3-23 does not apply, and Helen is not entitled to a statutory penalty. [1]