West Virginia Code 56-6-31 – Interest on judgment or decree
(a) Except where it is otherwise provided by law, every judgment or decree for the payment of money, whether in an action sounding in tort, contract, or otherwise, entered by any court of this state shall bear simple, not compounding, interest, whether it is stated in the judgment decree or not.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 56-6-31
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
(b) Prejudgment – In any judgment or decree that contains special damages, as defined below, or for liquidated damages, the court may award prejudgment interest on all or some of the amount of the special or liquidated damages, as calculated after the amount of any settlements. Any such amounts of special or liquidated damages shall bear simple, not compounding, interest. Special damages include lost wages and income, medical expenses, damages to tangible personal property and similar out-of-pocket expenditures, as determined by the court. If an obligation is based upon a written agreement, the obligation bears prejudgment interest at the rate and terms set forth in the written agreement until the date the judgment or decree is entered and, after that, the judgment interest is the same rate as provided for below in subsection (c) of this section.
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, the rate of prejudgment interest is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the right to bring the action has accrued, as determined by the court and that established rate shall remain constant from that date until the date of the judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the federal reserve district discount rate in effect in subsequent years prior to the date of the judgment or decree: Provided, That the rate of the prejudgment interest may not exceed nine percent per annum or be less than four percent per annum. The administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the prejudgment interest rate to be paid upon judgment or decrees for the payment of money and shall take appropriate measures to notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect for the calendar year in question. Once the rate of prejudgment interest is established as provided in this section, that established rate shall remain constant for the prejudgment interest for that particular judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the Federal Reserve District discount rate in effect in subsequent years.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1) of this section and section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, for all cases in which the right to bring the action accrued prior to 2009, the court may award prejudgment interest on all or some of the amount of the special or liquidated damages, as calculated after the amount of any settlement, at the interest rate that was in effect as of January 2, of the year in which the right to bring the action accrued.
(c) Post-judgment – Notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article six, chapter forty-seven of this code, the rate of post-judgment interest on judgments and decrees for the payment of money is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2, of the year in which the judgment or decree is entered: Provided, That the rate of post-judgment interest may not exceed nine percent per annum or be less than four percent per annum. The administrative office of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall annually determine the post-judgment interest rate to be paid upon judgments or decrees for the payment of money and shall take appropriate measures to promptly notify the courts and members of the West Virginia State Bar of the rate of interest in effect for the calendar year in question. Once the rate of interest is established by a judgment or decree as provided in this section that established rate shall after that remain constant for that particular judgment or decree, notwithstanding changes in the Federal Reserve District discount rate in effect in subsequent years.
(d) Amendments to this section enacted by the Legislature during the 2017 regular session become effective January 1, 2018.