Don't let the appellate court forget post judgment interest
On February 11, 2008, in Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Advocates, the Ninth Circuit held that, pursuant to FRAP 37(d),where a mandate instructs entry of judgment of a specific amount without designating the interest date for accrual of interest, the District Court does not have the authority to order the interest to accrue from the date of original judgment.
Here, there had been an appeal of a punitive judgment award, which was reduced as excessive. The Court had remanded to the district court with instructions to enter judgment for a specific amount, without specifying a date of accrual of post-judgment interest. The district court ordered that the interest would accrue from the date of the original judgment. Although this was error, the Court held that its own failure to designate the date of accrual was an oversight, and accordingly, recalled and amended the earlier mandate to provide for accrual of post-judgment interest from the date of the original judgment.
Despite the happy ending for Planned Parenthood, the winner of that punitive judgment award, Judge Fisher calls this opinion “a cautionary tale for all whose judgments are subject to the requirements of Rule 37(d).” In other words, don’t forget to ask the court to specify the interest accrual date; or seek recall immediately if the date is left out.. The Court recalled its mandate so longer after its issuance here only because it recognized that precedent in the matter had not been clear.
