Post-Judgment Interest Remand Depends on Analysis of First Appeal

Tennessee case summary on divorce process and appeals.

Jill St. John-Parker v. Virgil Duane Parker

This divorce case from Bradley County, Tennessee, was before the Tennessee Court of Appeals twice.  In 2016, the court had affirmed most of the judgment, despite the husband’s claim that the wife’s relationship with an expert witness should have been considered in weighing the expert’s opinion.  But the court had remanded the case as it related to the division of marital property.  On remand, the lower court, Judge Lawrence Howard Puckett, awarded the wife an additional amount, of over $300,000.  The wife asked for post-judgment interest dating back to the original date of divorce, but Judge Puckett denied this request.  The wife then brought a second appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

At issue was the interpretation of a 2009 case of the Court of Appeals, which the trial court had construed as limiting the award of interest.  Upon examining that case, the Court of Appeals concluded that it was critical to determine exactly what happened in the first appeal.  If the original judgment is vacated, then interest starts to run only after the date of the new judgment.  But if it is a mere modification, then the original date is critical.

The Court of Appeals held that the original appeal in this case was such that interest would begin to run from the date of the new judgment after remand.

The Court of Appeals noted that the subject of interest is covered by the Tennessee statutes, and the 2009 case was a mere interpretation of those statutes.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling.

No. E2016-02297-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 19, 2018).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.