Business Commercial Brokerage v. Chief Investments

Full title: BUSINESS COMMERCIAL BROKERAGE, INC., Plaintiff, v. CHIEF INVESTMENTS…

Court: United States District Court, N.D. Florida, Pensacola Division

Date published: Feb 5, 2009

Case No. 3:08cv435/MCR/MD (N.D. Fla. Feb. 5, 2009)

Opinion

Case No. 3:08cv435/MCR/MD.

February 5, 2009

ORDER

M. RODGERS, Magistrate Judge

Plaintiff Business Commercial Brokerage, Inc. has moved for a default judgment against both defendants. On review of the record, the court concludes plaintiff is entitled to a final judgment of default in the amount of $150,743.15, plus prejudgment interest in the amount of $5,906.41.

Plaintiff is entitled to prejudgment interest. See Argonaut Ins. Co. v. May Plumbing Co., 474 So.2d 212 (Fla. 1985). There is no "controlling contractual provision" in the promissory note as to the terms of any post-default prejudgment interest; thus, the court will apply the statutory prejudgment interest rate. Id. at 215; see Fla. Stat. § 55.03.¹ The rate of interest set at the time of the judgment remains the same until the judgment is paid, Fla. Stat. § 55.03(2); accordingly, the court has used a fixed interest rate rather than the fluctuating interest rate proposed by plaintiff. The annual prejudgment interest rate applicable to debts accruing on September 29, 2008, ² was 11% and the daily rate multiplier was 0.0003014. Fla. Dep't of Fin. Svcs., Statutory Interest Rates, http://www.fldfs.com/aadir/interest.htm (last visited Feb. 5, 2009). The court applied the multiplier to the balance owing of $150,743.15. For convenience in computing the number of days, the court computed the 2008 and 2009 accrued interest separately and then added the two. Period Number of days Prejudgment interest amount Total for 2008 $5,906.41 and 2009

1 Had the note expressly provided a post-default interest rate, or expressly provided for no post-default interest at all, the court would have enforced those terms. See Nielsen-Miller Const. Co. v. Pantlin/Prescott, Inc., 602 So.2d 1366 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992).

2 Florida law requires a plaintiff to provide evidence of the date on which payment was first demanded. Vellef v. Control-O-Fax Corp., 682 So.2d 1243 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). The record in this case contains no such evidence. Accordingly, prejudgment interest has been calculated from the date the complaint in this case was filed, September 29, 2008. See id.

9/29/2008 to 94 $150,743.15 × 94 × 0.0003014 = 12/31/2008 $4,270.79 1/1/2009 to 36 $150,743.15 × 36 × 0.0003014 = 2/5/2009 $1,635.62 Accordingly, the clerk shall enter a final default judgment in favor of Plaintiff Business Commercial Brokerage, Inc. and against Defendants Chief Investments, Inc. and Steve M. Turner, jointly and severally, ³ in the amount $150,743.15, plus prejudgment interest in the amount of $5,906.41.

DONE and ORDERED