Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc. v. Pineda
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc. v. Pineda
Opinion
*803
The plaintiff, Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc., appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying its motion for postmaturity postjudgment interest. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly denied the motion in light of General Statutes § 37-1
1
and our Supreme Court's decision in
*804
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
,
On May 8, 2017, the plaintiff filed a third application for financial institution execution, noting that postjudgment interest was awarded upon entry of judgment by Judge Moran. This application was rejected by the clerk on the ground that postjudgment interest had not been awarded. Thereafter, the plaintiff, on July 31, 2017, filed a motion for order of postmaturity postjudgment interest, claiming that Judge Moran had awarded such interest at the contractual rate of 15.99 percent and the clerk, therefore, improperly had rejected the application for financial institution execution. In his motion, the plaintiff also cited
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
, supra,
On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court erred in concluding that postmaturity interest does not accrue after judgment. Specifically, the plaintiff argues that the trial court failed to recognize that pursuant to § 37-1, and our Supreme Court's decision in
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
, supra,
In support of this argument, the plaintiff relies on language from the contract that provides, "[i]f immediate payment is demanded, you will continue to pay interest until what you owe has been repaid at the applicable interest rates in effect, or if applicable, at the default rate disclosed on the Addendum." The addendum in turn lists an interest rate of 15.99 percent for loans payable over twenty-four months, which rate also appears on a transaction receipt supplied by the plaintiff and the affidavit of debt. Throughout its brief, *807 the plaintiff asserts that Judge Moran, upon entry of judgment, on November 19, 2010, had granted postmaturity interest. Consequently, in the plaintiff's view, the trial court, in denying its motion for postjudgment interest, improperly considered the sufficiency of the record. Although the plaintiff frames its claim of error in definitive terms, suggesting that postjudgment interest was awarded upon entry of judgment by Judge Moran on November 19, 2010, the judgment itself contains no express mention of such an award. We, nevertheless, agree with the plaintiff that the November 19, 2010 judgment itself, § 37-1, and our Supreme Court's decision in Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc. , interpreting § 37-1, should have guided the trial court.
We begin by setting forth the standard of review and applicable legal principles. "The interpretation and application of a statute ... involves a question of law over which our review is plenary." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Meadowbrook Center, Inc.
v.
Buchman
,
In
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
, supra,
More recently, this court, in
American First Federal, Inc.
v.
Gordon , supra,
Our law after
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
, supra,
*995 In the plaintiff's view, Judge Moran necessarily awarded postjudgment interest at 15.99 percent when he expressly granted the prejudgment interest requested in by the plaintiff in its motion for judgment. Specifically, at oral argument before this court, the plaintiff maintained that the judgment necessarily includes postjudgment interest at the rate of 15.99 percent because that was the rate used to compute the prejudgment interest. Post- Sikorsky , the rules of the court, and rules of practice have not made the judges' or clerks' role convenient to make ready disposition. Nor have the rules kept up with enforcement or payment of judgment debts where eo nomine interest is bargained for by the parties and continues to accrue at a rate they agreed upon postmaturity until the note is paid. Until some rule amendment is adopted, so that *810 the application for execution on the judgment succinctly and readily informs a court clerk or judge of the basis of entitlement to running eo nomine interest post note maturity and postjudgment, the court will have to examine the motion for judgment and its attachments to determine if that record suffices to justify the issuance of an execution on the underlying judgment in an amount of eo nomine interest claimed in the application.
In light of these circumstances, we understand how the trial court felt compelled to require the plaintiff to submit additional evidence in support of its claim. The court, however, could have taken judicial notice of the court file and Judge Moran's earlier underlying judgment, which awarded eo nomine interest on the unpaid balance of the judgment on the note, in the exact amount set forth in the plaintiff's motion for judgment and its attachments containing the contractual rate of interest of 15.99 percent. There was no need for transcripts of the proceeding before Judge Moran because the defendant had been defaulted and, therefore, the motion for judgment after that default was taken on the papers; there was no transcript. The trial court's reasoning that the plaintiff should have appealed from Judge Moran's judgment or filed a motion to open is misdirected, because Judge Moran already had awarded eo nomine interest. There was no need to appeal or move to open a judgment that had granted what the plaintiff sought. See
Scarsdale National Bank & Trust Co.
v.
Schmitz
,
The judgment is reversed only as to the denial of the plaintiff's motion for an order of postjudgment interest and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to grant execution on the judgment, including eo nomine postjudgment interest at the contractual rate of 15.99 percent on that part of the judgment that remains unpaid.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
General Statutes § 37-1 provides: "(a) The compensation for forbearance of property loaned at a fixed valuation, or for money, shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be at the rate of eight per cent a year; and, in computing interest, three hundred sixty days may be considered to be a year.
"(b) Unless otherwise provided by agreement, interest at the legal rate from the date of maturity of a debt shall accrue as an addition to the debt."
The defendant, Bernardino Pineda, neither filed an appearance in the trial court nor appeared before this court.
Although the plaintiff's motion did not specify the interest rate of 15.99 percent, the affidavit of debt and other loan documents attached to the plaintiff's motion recited that interest rate. The plaintiff's motion sought $2521.08 in prejudgment interest, calculated at the contractual rate of 15.99 percent, which the court awarded. We know therefore that the judgment of November 19, 2010, granted the plaintiff's motion providing for eo nomine interest-interest as compensation for a loan-at the rate of 15.99 percent, which the defendant had agreed to pay postmaturity. The rate of 15.99 percent exceeds the 8 percent default rate of interest provided in § 37-1.
Although the trial court's order mistakenly cites § 37-1a, it is clear that the relevant statute is § 37-1, and, in fact, the plaintiff, in its motion, specifically sought an award of interest under that statute.
By contrast, although interest under § 37-3a may also accrue both pre- and postjudgment, whether it is awarded is "principally an equitable question lying within the trial court's discretion."
Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc.
v.
Butts
, supra,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.