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Re: Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland v. Williette Da vis, et al. No. 84, September Term, 2002

INTEREST - MONEY JUDGMENTS - GARNISHMENT - JUDGMENT CRED ITOR IS NOT ENTITLED TO POST-JUDGMENT INTEREST ON ACCRUED POST -JUDGMENT INTEREST ON JUDGMENT.

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 84 September Term, 2002 ______________________________________ MEDICAL MUTUAL LIABILITY INSURANCE SOCIETY OF MARYLAND

v. WILLIETTE DAVIS, ET AL. ______________________________________ Bell, C.J. *Eldridge Raker Wilner Cathell Harrell Battaglia, JJ.

Opinion by Bell, C.J. ______________________________________ Filed: September 15, 2005 * Eldridge, J. now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active membe r of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoption of this opinion.

The issue we are required in this case to decide is whether a judgment creditor, indisputably entitled to post-judgm ent interest on its judgment, who accepts a remittitur, may receive interest on that portion of the post-judgm ent interest pa id pursuant to a court order, entered in a writ of garnishment proceeding, determining that post-judgment interest begins to run when the judgment is entered, rather than when the remittitur is accepted, where, prior to the initiation of the garnishment proceedings, the judgment debtor's insured had paid into the court the judgmen t debtor's po licy limits and the post-judgment interest at issue accrued after the judgment creditor's acceptance of the remittitur. The Circuit Court for Prince George's County con cluded tha t Williette Davis and Massaquai Kamara, the appellees, were entitled to the post-judgment interest they sought from Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, the appellant, reasoning that a money judgment had been entered in the garnishment proceedin gs they initiated. T his Court, o n its own in itiative, granted the appellant's petition for writ of certiorari before the Co urt of S pecial A ppeals acted. Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland v. Davis , 371 Md. 613, 810 A. 2d 961 (2002). W e shall revers e the judgm ent of the C ircuit Court. I. This is the second time this case has reached this Court. On the first, the issue we addressed was when post-judgment interest began to accrue on a money judgment returned by a jury, where the jury's verdict is subsequently reduced by the trial court, pursuant to a remittitur. Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland v. Davis , 365 Md.477,

478 , 781 A. 2d 781, 781 (2001). 1 This Court affirmed the judgm ent of the C ircuit Court. Id. at 487, 7 81 A. 2 d at 787 . Applying Maryland R ule 2-604 (b), 2 "in accordance with the purpose of post-jud gment inte rest and the c onsiderab le case-law governing the running of

The jury verd ict was return ed in wro ngful dea th and surv ivor actions, b rought in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County and alleging negligence in the delivery of the appellees' son. The v erdict was in the amo unt of $5,313,283 .30, which the court entered on the d ocket o n Nov embe r 13, 19 96. Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland v. Davis , 365 Md.47 7, 478 , 781 A. 2d 781, 782 (2001 ). Dr. Mo dy, the defend ant doctor, w ho was in sured by M edicial M utual Liability Society o f Ma ryland, file d a mo tion for a new trial or, in th e alterna tive, for remittitu r. Id. at 479, 781 A. 2d at 782. Having reduced the noneconomic damages awarded to the estate of the appellee's son from $ 2 million to $ 350,000, at the parties' suggestion, referen cing the cap on nonec onom ic dam ages sta tute, see Md. C ode (197 4, 1998 R epl. Vol.),

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