Opinion ID: 1651329
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Brown Builders' Liability for Prejudgment Interest

Text: Plaintiffs also claim the trial court erred in awarding prejudgment interest from the date of the service of summons instead of from the date they were not paid the prevailing wage. They claim this was erroneous because a written contract required they be paid the prevailing wage and section 408.020 allows interest on all moneys after they become due and payable, on written contracts. [7] The written contract on which Plaintiffs rely in their brief as support for their claim of prejudgment interest is the written contract between Camden and Three Rivers Community College. Plaintiffs are third-party beneficiaries of this contract, because the contract expresses the intent to benefit them as workers who fall under the prevailing wage law. See Verni v. Cleveland Chiropractic Coll., 212 S.W.3d 150, 153 (Mo. banc 2007) (To be bound as a third-party beneficiary, the terms of the contract must clearly express intent to benefit that party or an identifiable class of which the party is a member). Although Brown Builders is not a party to the general contract between Camden and Three Rivers Community College, it is bound to the general contract's employment terms by the written subcontract between it and Camden. Under section 408.020, Plaintiffs are entitled to a judgment against Brown Builders for prejudgment interest on the underpaid wages and fringe benefits, calculated from the date the wages became due and payable under the contract. The finding that Plaintiffs are entitled to prejudgment interest from the date the underpaid wages and fringe benefits became due and payable, however, does not end the analysis. Plaintiffs also sought judgment for double the underpaid amounts, pursuant to section 290.300, and the trial court awarded double the amount of the fringe benefits owed to Plaintiffs. Because Plaintiffs are entitled to underpaid apprentice wages, in addition to fringe benefits, Plaintiffs are entitled to double the underpaid apprentice wages as well. See, e.g., Bonney v. Envtl. Eng'g Inc., 224 S.W.3d 109, 122 (Mo.App.S.D. 2007) (When the `prevailing hourly rate of wages,' including the appropriate fringe benefits, are not paid to a workman, that workman is entitled to bring suit for double damages under [s]ection 290.300). While this case was pending on appeal, this Court issued its opinion in Carpenter v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 250 S.W.3d 697 (Mo. banc 2008). In Carpenter , the issue was whether plaintiffs could recover both a statutory penalty of three times the fee charged for the unauthorized practice of law and prejudgment interest on the amount of actual damages. Id. The Court held that the plaintiffs could not. Id. The Court found that the legislature's failure to provide for prejudgment interest in the statute authorizing treble damages for the unauthorized practice of law indicated the legislature's intent that interest not be available. Id. The penalty of treble damages adequately served to protect the public from those not authorized to practice law and, by receiving treble damages, the plaintiffs would receive substantially more than their actual damages and interest on that amount. Id. In this case, section 290.300 provides that workers can recover double the difference between the amount of wages and fringe benefits required by statute and the amount actually paid. The statute also authorizes that the workers can recover a reasonable attorney's fee to be determined by the court. But, like Carpenter , the statute does not authorize prejudgment interest on the underpaid wages and fringe benefits. Therefore, Plaintiffs must elect their remedy. Plaintiffs can obtain a judgment for the underpaid wages and fringe benefits, and prejudgment interest on that amount from the date the wages were due and payable under the contract between Brown Builders and Camden. Alternatively, under section 290.300, Plaintiffs can recover double the difference between the amount of wages required and the amount paid, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Plaintiffs, however, cannot recover both double damages and prejudgment interest. In sum, Plaintiffs are entitled to a judgment against Brown Builders for: (a) underpaid wages calculated on the rate of $27.85 per hour and (b) underpaid fringe benefits calculated on the rate of $15.02 per hour. Plaintiffs are also entitled to either prejudgment interest of nine percent on the underpaid wages and fringe benefits from the date the wages and benefits were due and payable or the statutory penalty provided by section 290.300. The judgment of the trial court as to Brown Builders is reversed. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed. The cause is remanded. All concur.