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Andrews v. Ruozzo9/12/2001
interest.
Therefore, appellant's sole assignment of error is without merit and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Vukovich, P.J., Dissents, see dissenting opinion. Waite, J., Concurs.
VUKOVICH, P.J., dissenting:
We have before us a personal injury lawsuit where: (1) the negligence of the defendant is undisputed; (2) there is no evidence that the claimed medical expenses of the plaintiff were unrelated to the aforementioned negligence; (3) the top settlement offer on behalf of the defendant was thirty-five of the medical expenses; and (4) the jury verdict was more than seven times the best settlement offer. While I do not embrace the philosophy feared by my colleagues in the majority, that is, to replace the trial court's judgment in every case where pre- judgment interest is rejected, I submit that adopting a philosophy whereby the trial court's judgment is never rejected is equally repugnant.
I would hold that the factors set out above are indicative of a bad-faith settlement posture by the defendant. Accordingly, I would reverse the trial court. If we do not do so under the facts in existence here, then our pre-judgment interest statutes are no more than precatory language subject to the arbitrary whims of the trial court.
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