Opinion ID: 1090899
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the trial court was correct in valuing stock included in the attorney's fee as of the date of summary judgment instead of the supreme court mandate.

Text: ¶ 11. In assessing the mandatory statutory penalty, the trial court valued stock that was a part of the award of attorney's fee as of the date of its summary judgment, rather than the date of the Supreme Court mandate. Dockins argues the appropriate date for the valuation of property is the date of the Supreme Court mandate. We agree. ¶ 12. [T]he date upon which valuation of the subject properties should be made in connection with the 15% statutory penalty is ... the date of the Supreme Court's mandate affirming the lower court's decision. Estate of Haynes v. Steele, 699 So.2d 918, 926 (Miss.1997). See also Peoples Bank & Trust Co. v. L & T Developers, Inc., 437 So.2d 7, 12 n. 4 (Miss. 1983); Lowicki, 429 So.2d at 920. Allred points out that all of these cases involve real property, and, indeed, part of the justification for using the date of the Supreme Court mandate is the difficulty in valuing volatile real property. Peoples Bank & Trust Co., 437 So.2d at 12 n. 4. This is obviously not a problem with the property in question given its daily price listing on the New York Stock Exchange. However, when asked to apply statutory damages on a suit involving an insurance policy, this Court stated, the amount in controversy is of course, personal property, but there is no evidence in the record from which its present value can be ascertained[.] Garner v. Townes, 134 Miss. 791, 805, 100 So. 20, 23 (1924) (emphasis added). Clearly, Garner valued the policy, which is personal property, at its present valuei.e. its value on the date of the mandate. ¶ 13. Allred also points to cases where the statutory penalty was not applied to post-judgment interest or damages accrued after the trial court's judgment. Benson v. Benson, 749 So.2d 75, 77 (Miss. 1999); Koehring Co. v. Hyde Constr. Co., 236 So.2d 377, 382 (Miss.1970); Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Fried, 202 Miss. 370, 383, 31 So.2d 116, 118 (1947); U.S. Fidelity & Guar. Co. v. Yost, 183 Miss. 65, 185 So. 564 (1939). However, all these cases deal with money which accrued after the trial court's judgment, i.e., interest or additional damages. The case at bar deals with property that has changed in value. It has long been the law to apply the statutory penalty to the value of property as of the date of the Supreme Court mandate, and we see no reason to change that rule. Therefore, the trial court erred as a matter of law in fixing a different valuation date for the stock.