Padberg v. Giuliani
Padberg v. Giuliani
Opinion of the Court
SUMMARY ORDER
Plaintiffs-Appellants John Padberg and a class of New York City taxicab drivers (collectively, “Appellants”) appeal the judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Gold, M.J.) denying their motion that Defendants-Appellees the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission and several associated individuals (collectively, “Appellees”) be ordered to pay post-judgment interest on a court-approved settlement. Appellants contend that the District Court erred in (1) finding that postjudgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) does not apply to court-approved settlements, and (2) holding that even if postjudgment interest did apply to court-approved settlements, it was inappropriate in this case because the judgment was not ascertained in a meaningful way. We assume familiarity with the facts of the case, the procedural history, and the scope of the issues on appeal. Reviewing the case de novo, West
We agree with the District Court that post-judgment interest would be inappropriate in this case because the judgment was not adequately ascertained. Accordingly, we need not reach the broader issue of whether the federal postjudgment interest statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a) applies to court-approved settlements. The Supreme Court has instructed that under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), postjudgment interest commences from the date a judgment is “ascertained in a meaningful way.” Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp. v. Bonjorno, 494 U.S. 827, 835-36, 110 S.Ct. 1570, 108 L.Ed.2d 842 (1990) (“[T]he purpose of postjudgment interest is to compensate the successful plaintiff for being deprived of compensation for the loss from the time between the ascertainment of the damage and the payment by the defendant.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); accord Goodrich Corp. v. Town of Middlebury, 311 F.3d 154, 178 (2d Cir. 2002), cert denied, 539 U.S. 937, 123 S.Ct. 2577, 156 L.Ed.2d 621 (2003).
Appellants request postjudgment interest starting from August 1, 2006, the date that Judge Dearie approved and ordered the parties’ settlement agreement.
We have considered all of Appellants arguments and find them to be without merit.
Accordingly, the judgment of the District Court is AFFIRMED.
. More specifically, Appellants argue that Appellees should be required to pay post-judgment interest on the suspension claims from July 19, 2002, the date Judge Dearie granted Appellants summary judgment as to the suspension issue, and postjudgment interest on the revocation claims from August 1, 2006, the date Judge Dearie approved and ordered the settlement.
. This formula for damages was not in place until August 1, 2006. Consequently, any argument that Appellants should be compensated starting from July 19, 2002, when the District Court granted their motion for summary judgment as to the suspension claims, is unpersuasive.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John PADBERG, Clifford Paolillo, Libardo Uribe, Ionannis Sklavounakis and Joseph Gerard, Rashid Ahmed v. Rudolph W. GIULIANI, Joseph McKay, Matthew Daus, Harry Rubinstein, Elliot Sander, Harvey Giannoulis, Marvin Greenberg, Ramona Whaley and New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published