Opinion ID: 1889298
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Whether the Court of Chancery Erred by Awarding Compound Interest on a Damages Award

Text: The Court of Chancery awarded damages including pre-judgment interest at the statutory amount, compounded monthly from August 1, 1995 until the date of judgment. [49] The defendants assert that the Court of Chancery may not award compound interest as a matter of law. This Court reviews de novo the Court of Chancery's interpretation of Delaware law. [50] Delaware courts have traditionally disfavored compound interest. [51] But, we agree with the Court of Chancery that its uncontested discretion to select a rate of interest higher than the statutory rate ... include[es] the lesser authority to award compounding. [52] The Court of Chancery has noted that, in Delaware, no rule of simple interest exists in the General Corporation Law and [t]he rule or practice of awarding simple interest, in this day and age, has nothing to commend it  except that it has always been done that way in the past. [53] We agree, and even before this appeal, we recognized the discretion of the Court of Chancery to award compound interest. [54] Thus, we find that the Vice Chancellor had the discretion to award compound interest in this case and did not abuse that discretion.