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Brown v. Millsap11/18/2003
35.00 to the jury award of $9,500.00 to determine whether the $10,000.00 maximum was exceeded. Prejudgment interest is automatically added to plaintiff's award to compensate a prevailing party. The trial court was required to add the amount of $669.76 to the jury's award of $9,500.00 to determine whether the $10,000.00 statutory maximum was exceeded. Although the trial court erred by adding discretionary court costs to the jury's verdict, this error is harmless. The addition of $669.76 in prejudgment interest to the jury's award of $9,500.00, less $435.00 court costs, equals $10,169.76, which exceeds the statutory maximum. Unlike Sowell, the automatic addition of prejudgment interest causes the "judgment for recovery of damages" to exceed the statutory maximum of $10,000.00.
III. Conclusion
The trial court erred by adding discretionary court costs of $435.00 to the jury's award of $9,500.00 with interest to determine whether plaintiff was entitled to be heard on its motion for attorney's fees under N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 6-21.1. This error is harmless because the trial court was required to automatically add prejudgment interest of $669.76 to the jury's verdict of $9,500.00. The "judgment for recovery of damages" exceeded the statutory maximum of $10,000.00. I would affirm the trial court's ruling. I respectfully dissent.
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