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Northern Mont. Hosp. v. Knight5/21/1991
it is claimed that the writing contains matters not related to the subject matter of the testimony the court shall examine the writing in camera, excise any portions not so related, and order delivery of the remainder to the party entitled thereto. Any portion withheld over objection shall be preserved and made available to the appellate court in the event of an appeal." (Emphasis added.)
The documents the Architect sought to compel were reviewed by the trial court in camera following the Hospital's claim that two letters in the file were not related to the subject matter of the expert's testimony and were in any case protected by the attorney-client privilege. The court, in compliance with Rule 612, M.R.Evid., concluded that the letters were protected as attorney work product and, furthermore, that they were of little relevance to the expert's testimony and would not lead to further discovery. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in so ruling.
IV.
Did the District Court properly deny the Hospital's motion for prejudgment interest?
When the amount of recovery is certain or capable of being made certain by calculation, a plaintiff shall recover prejudgment interest. Section 27-1-211, MCA, provides:
"Every person who is entitled to recover damages certain or capable of being made certain by calculation and the right to recover which is vested in him upon a particular day is entitled also to recover interest thereon from that day except during such time as the debtor is prevented by law or by the act of the creditor from paying the debt."
This Court has established three criteria that must be met to be eligible for prejudgment interest under this statute. There must be an underlying monetary obligation; the amount of recovery must be certain or capable of being made certain by calculation; and the right to recover the obligation must vest on a particular day. Byrne v. Terry, 228 Mont. 387, 390, 741 P.2d 1341, 1343 (1987).
Prejudgment interest is inappropriate when the amount of a party's damages is uncertain or disputed. In Carriger v. Ballenger, 192 Mont. 479, 628 P.2d 1106 (1981), the builder failed to complete construction of the plaintiff's home in a timely manner. Plaintiff sought interest from the date of injury . We rejected the request with the following language:
" he amount of the damages due upon breach was not clearly ascertainable until determined by the trial court. This Court has interpreted the statute to mean that no interest can run until a fixed amount of damages has been arrived at, either by agreement, appraisal, or judgment." (Emphasis added.)
Carriger, 192 Mont. at 486, 628 P.2d at 1110.
In this case, much evidence was presented at trial concerning the Hospital's damages. The jury returned a verdict of $1,750,000. This amount did not coincide with any amount set out as damages by the Hospital. Clearly, the right to recover interest vested only on the date of the jury verdict and not on an earlier particular date. The trial court did not err in refusing to award the Hospital prejudgment interest.
Affirmed.
CHIEF JUSTICE TURNAGE and JUSTICES HARRISON, BARZ, McDONOUGH and SHEEHY, and THE HONORABLE DOUGLAS G. HARKIN, District Judge, sitting for JUSTICE WEBER, concur.
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