SALVATORE v. VIKING SPORT CRUISERS, INC.
Filing
92
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting 86 Motion to Alter Judgment; ORDERED that the Judgment 89 shall be, and hereby is, amended to include an award of prejudgment interest in the amount of $14,921.51, bringing the total amount of Pltf's judgement to $169,293.85. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 12/7/2012. (dmr)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
ENRICO SALVATORE,
Civil No. 09-4817 (NLH/KMW)
Plaintiff,
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND
ORDER
v.
VIKING SPORT CRUISERS, INC.
d/b/a VIKING YACHT COMPANY,
Defendant.
HILLMAN, District Judge
This matter having come before the Court by way of Plaintiff
Enrico Salvatore’s motion [Doc. No. 86] to alter the judgment
entered in this case to include an award of prejudgment interest;
and
The Court noting that Defendant did not file opposition to
Plaintiff’s motion, and that the time for filing opposition has
expired; and
The Court recognizing that “[f]ederal courts sitting in
diversity must apply state law with respect to prejudgment
interest[,]” Gleason v. Norwest Mortg., Inc., 253 F. App’x 198,
203 (3d Cir. 2007) (citing Jarvis v. Johnson, 668 F.2d 740, 746
(3d Cir. 1982); and
The Court further recognizing that New Jersey Court Rule
4:42-11(b) governs the calculation of prejudgment interest in
tort actions in New Jersey, see Gleason, 253 F. App’x at 204, and
provides in pertinent part that “the court shall, in tort
actions, ... include in the judgment simple interest, calculated
as hereafter provided, from the date of the institution of the
action or from a date 6 months after the date the cause of action
arises, whichever is later, .... Prejudgment interest shall not,
however, be allowed on any recovery for future economic losses.
Prejudgment interest shall be calculated in the same amount and
manner provided for by paragraph (a) of this rule...”; and
The Court noting that pursuant to Rule 4:42-11(a)(ii), (iii)
“the annual rate of interest shall equal the average rate of
return, to the nearest whole or one-half percent, for the
corresponding preceding fiscal year terminating on June 30, of
the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund ... as reported by
the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury[,]”;
and
The Court also finding that pursuant to Rule 4:42-11(b),
Plaintiff is entitled to prejudgment interest on the entirety of
the $154,372.34 judgment entered in his favor because this
judgment did not include any recovery for future economic losses;
and
The Court further finding that Plaintiff is entitled to
prejudgment interest from the date on which the complaint in this
action was filed — September 17, 2009 — until the date that
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judgment was entered — October 10, 2012;1 and
Plaintiff seeking an award of prejudgment interest in the
amount of $14,928.06 as calculated pursuant Rule 4:42-11; and
The Court having reviewed the motion and Plaintiff’s
calculations of the amount of prejudgment interest allegedly due;
and
The Court having independently calculated the amount of
prejudgment interest which should be awarded pursuant to Rule
4:42-11; and
The Court recognizing that Plaintiff utilized the accurate
and applicable interest rates for prejudgment interest required
by Rule 4:42-11 as published by the Civil Practice Division of
the New Jersey Judiciary such that the interest rates for the
relevant years are: four percent (4%) for 2009, one and a half
percent (1.5%) for 2010, and one half of a percent (0.5%) for
2011 and 2012, see Post-Judgment and Pre-Judgment Interest Rates
Chart, Revised Oct. 2, 2012, available at
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/civil/PostPre-JudgmentRates.pdf;
and
The Court also finding that because the judgment entered in
1. The Court notes that the original judgment entered on October
10, 2012 was amended on October 19, 2012 to correct a clerical
error pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a).
However, for purposes of this motion, October 10, 2012, and not
October 19, 2012, serves as the operative date when judgment was
first entered with respect to the calculation of prejudgment
interest under Rule 4:42-11(b).
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Plaintiff’s favor was entered after September 1, 1996 and exceeds
the $15,000 monetary limit for the Special Civil Part of the New
Jersey Superior Court, Plaintiff correctly added a rate of two
percent (2%) per annum to each of the above mentioned interest
rates, see New Jersey Court Rule 4:42-11(a)(iii); and
The Court noting that Rule 4:42-11(b) requires the inclusion
of simple interest in a judgment in a tort action, which is
calculated using the formula, I = P • r • t, where I represents
the total simple interest, P represents the principal, r
represents the interest rate expressed as a decimal, and t
represents the time in years; and
Plaintiff asserting that for the year 2009 he is entitled to
$2,663.85 in prejudgment interest based on interest that accrued
during the 105 days from the filing of the complaint until the
end of 2009; but
The Court having conducted its own calculations under the
formula above to determine that the total interest due for 2009
is actually $2,664.50;2 and
Plaintiff also asserting that for the year 2010 he is
entitled to $5,403.03 in prejudgment interest; and
2. Using the formula for simple interest, the principal here is
the amount of judgment ($154,372.34), the interest rate for 2009
is six percent (6%), and the time in years is the number of days
interest accrued during 2009 (i.e., 105 days) divided by the
total number of days in the year (i.e., 365 days). Accordingly,
$154,372.34 • .06 • (105/365) = $2,664.50.
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The Court noting that Plaintiff’s calculation regarding the
amount of prejudgment interest for 2010 is consistent with the
Court’s independent calculation of this amount of interest;3 and
Plaintiff further asserting that for the year 2011 he is
entitled to $3,859.30 in prejudgment interest; but
The Court having conducted its own calculations under the
formula above to determine that the total interest due for 2011
is actually $3,859.31;4 and
Plaintiff also asserting that for the year 2012 he is
entitled to $3,001.88 in prejudgment interest based on interest
that accrued during the 284 days from the beginning of 2012 until
judgment was entered on October 10, 2012; but
The Court having conducted its own calculations under the
formula above to determine that the total interest due for 2012
is actually $2,994.67;5 and
3. Using the formula for simple interest, the principal here is
the amount of judgment ($154,372.34), the interest rate for 2010
is three and a half percent (3.5%), and the time in years is the
number of days interest accrued during 2010 (i.e., 365 days)
divided by the total number of days in the year (i.e., 365 days).
Accordingly, $154,372.34 • .035 • (365/365) = $5,403.03.
4. Using the formula for simple interest, the principal here is
the amount of judgment ($154,372.34), the interest rate for 2011
is two and a half percent (2.5%), and the time in years is the
number of days interest accrued during 2011 (i.e., 365 days)
divided by the total number of days in the year (i.e., 365 days).
Accordingly, $154,372.34 • .025 • (365/365) = $3,859.31.
5. Using the formula for simple interest, the principal here is
the amount of judgment ($154,372.34), the interest rate for 2012
is two and a half percent (2.5%), and the time in years is the
number of days interest accrued during 2012 (i.e., 284 days)
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The Court finding that Plaintiff is entitled to a total
award of prejudgment interest in the amount of $14,921.51 based
on the sum of the prejudgment interest for each of the respective
years as set forth above.
Accordingly,
IT IS on this
7th
day of
December
, 2012, hereby
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion to alter the judgment to
include prejudgment interest [Doc. No. 86] shall be, and hereby
is GRANTED; and it is further
ORDERED that the Judgment in this case [Doc. No. 89] shall
be, and hereby is, amended to include an award of prejudgment
interest in the amount of $14,921.51, bringing the total amount
of Plaintiff’s judgment to $169,293.85.
/s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.
At Camden, New Jersey
divided by the total number of days in the year, noting that 2012
is a leap year (i.e., 366 days). Accordingly, $154,372.34 • .025
• (284/366) = $2,994.67.
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