Court Opinion

ID: 9466195
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:07:52.186112+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:39:35.671812
License: Public Domain

On Petition for Rehearing
The plaintiff-appellant has petitioned this court for a rehearing pursuant to Fed.R. App.P. 40 on the question of the interest which should be awarded either as an element of damages or on the judgment itself. On consideration of the petition and the defendant-appellee’s answer, all judges on the original panel have voted to deny the petition. Under the circumstances, the plaintiff is not entitled to interest prior to the time of the district court’s entry of judgment in his favor on July 7, 1977. Interest cannot reasonably be included as part of damages.
Under Wisconsin law, prejudgment interest can ordinarily be recovered if the amount claimed and recovered was readily determinable. The defendant’s denial of liability will not defeat a claim for prejudgment interest. Wyandotte Chemicals Corp. v. Royal Electric Manufacturing Co., 66 Wis.2d 577, 585, 225 N.W.2d 648, 652 (1975). We have held in this case that the full amount of the excess judgment was recoverable as a matter of law once liability was established.
A genuine dispute as to the amount due, however, will defeat the claim for interest because the defendant cannot reasonably determine the amount due and tender it. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin found such a genuine dispute where the plaintiffs were entitled to a determinable amount of back pay, but the parties disagreed, as did the trial and appellate courts, on whether the amount should be reduced by earnings from other employment. State ex rel. Schilling v. Baird, 65 Wis.2d 394, 402, 222 N.W.2d 666, 671 (1974). The latter case controls our decision. In this case the parties and the trial and appellate courts disagreed on the proper measure of damages where the plaintiff was an assignee on an excess judgment claim. The plaintiff-appellant is not entitled to prejudgment interest.
As to interest on the judgment of the district court, the defendant concedes it is liable for interest on the $59,186 awarded by the district court for the period July 7, 1977 to July 20,1979. After the latter date, interest should accrue on the entire amount awarded by this court. The mandate of this court shall direct that judgment be entered accordingly. See Fed.R.App.P. 37.
The Petition for rehearing is DENIED.