BRIAN T. HOYLE, Justice.
Larry T. Long, L. Allan Long, and B. Virginia Long, in their capacity as trustees of the Lawrence Allan Long Trust, the Charles Edward Long Trust, the Larry Thomas Long Trust, and the John Stephen Long Trust d/b/a the Long Trusts (collectively the Long Trusts) appeal from the judgment of the trial court. In their sole issue, the Long Trusts challenge the trial court's determination of the accrual date for postjudgment interest. We affirm.
The Long Trusts sued Castle Texas Production Limited Partnership (Castle) in 1996.
In their sole issue, the Long Trusts contend that postjudgment interest began to accrue on March 25, 2009, the date of the most recent judgment,
Postjudgment interest is regulated by statute, and as such, its application is a question of law that we review de novo. See Advanced Messaging Wireless, Inc. v. Campus Design, Inc., 190 S.W.3d 66, 71 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2005, no pet.) (citing Columbia Medical Center v. Bush ex rel. Bush, 122 S.W.3d 835, 865 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2003, pet. denied)).
Postjudgment interest is recoverable on any money judgment in this state as long as the judgment specifies the postjudgment interest rate. TEX. FIN.CODE ANN. § 304.001 (Vernon 2006). Postjudgment interest is compensation allowed by law for the use or detention of money, computed from the date of rendition of judgment until the date of satisfaction. Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word v. Dunsmoor, 832 S.W.2d 112, 119 (Tex.App.-Austin 1992, writ denied); see also TEX. FIN.CODE ANN. § 304.005(a) (Vernon 2006). Generally, a judgment is rendered when the decision is officially announced orally in open court, by memorandum filed with the clerk, or otherwise announced publicly.
The Long Trusts argue that when we ordered the trial court to sever Castle's counterclaim and determine the prejudgment interest issue, the September 5, 2001 judgment became interlocutory. In other words, they urge that the September 5, 2001 judgment lost its status as a final judgment and the monetary award became uncertain. Because of this procedural posture, the Long Trusts contend, postjudgment interest did not begin to accrue until the trial court rendered its second judgment on March 25, 2009—the day that Castle affirmatively waived its entitlement to prejudgment interest in open court.
Castle argues that our opinion in Lewis v. Hill controls the disposition of this case. Lewis v. Hill, 429 S.W.2d 572 (Tex.Civ. App.-Tyler 1968, no writ). In that case, Hill brought suit against Lewis for dissolution of their partnership. Id. at 573. Hill prevailed and obtained a judgment in the amount of $44,551.82. Id. Lewis appealed contending that $16,187.50 of the award to compensate Hill for salary payments was erroneous. The Amarillo court of appeals agreed, reduced the total award to $25,364.32, and affirmed the judgment as reformed. Id. at 574. Thereafter, Lewis paid Hill the judgment amount, but calculated postjudgment interest from the date of the appellate court's judgment, not the date of the trial court's original judgment. Id. Consequently, Hill refused to release the judgment on the ground that Lewis failed to pay the total amount due for postjudgment interest. Id. A second suit was filed, this time by Lewis. Id. The trial court held that postjudgment interest ran from the date of the trial court's original judgment in the first suit, not from the date of the Amarillo court of appeals' opinion. Id. On appeal, this court agreed,
Id. at 575. Likewise, other courts have held that if an appellate court reverses a judgment for one party and enters judgment for the other party, the prevailing party on appeal is entitled to interest on the judgment from the date of the erroneous judgment in the trial court. See, e.g., Thornal v. Cargill, Inc., 587 S.W.2d 384, 384-85 (Tex.1979).
The Long Trusts argue that Lewis does not control because in Lewis, the judgment
In Timpson, the plaintiff (Pruitt) was injured after striking a pothole on his motorcycle. He sued the City of Timpson and the State for the defect. Id. at 25. The State filed a cross action for contribution against Timpson. Id. At the close of the State's case, the trial court directed a verdict for Timpson on the cross action. Id. Timpson settled with Pruitt. Id. The jury awarded damages and apportioned negligence 100% to the State. Id. The State appealed, and we affirmed as to the State's liability and the amount of damages. Id. However, we remanded the case for trial only of the issues of the comparative negligence of the State and the City. Id. In other words, we affirmed the trial court's judgment, but remanded for the limited purpose of determining the apportionment of damages, a factual issue requiring a limited trial. On remand, after conducting the retrial of comparative negligence, the trial court awarded post-judgment interest from the date of its new judgment. Id. Pruitt appealed, arguing that postjudgment interest accrued from the original judgment. Id. at 27. We held as follows:
Id.
Simply stated, the general rule is that after examining the entire procedural history of a dispute, a party that ultimately prevails is entitled to postjudgment interest from the date the original judgment was rendered, irrespective of whether the original judgment was erroneous, because that is the date upon which the trial court should have rendered a correct judgment. See id. In the instant case, the original judgment was issued on September 5, 2001. We affirmed that judgment in Castle's favor on July 31, 2003,
Castle has been deprived of the use of the amounts awarded in the judgment favoring it since 2001, a judgment we affirmed on appeal. Applying the reasoning in Timpson, we hold that Castle is entitled
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.