Filed: Aug. 16, 2000
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: clerk of the court to the amount of damages.but post-judgment interest was waived. However, OOI has not, cited, and we are not aware of, any authority supporting the, position that parties may not enter an agreement to waive their, right to prejudgment interest under Massachusetts law.
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION–NOT TO BE CITED AS PRECEDENT]
United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 00-1312
TRANS NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,
Plaintiff, Appellee,
v.
OVERLOOKED OPINIONS, INC.,
Defendant, Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge,
Boudin and Lipez, Circuit Judges.
C. Enrico Schaefer and Smith & Johnson, Attorneys, P.C. on
brief for appellant.
July 12, 2000
Per Curiam. Overlooked Opinions, Inc. (“OOI”)
appeals from the district court’s denial of its motion
pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(a) for correction of the
judgment entered in its favor to include prejudgment
interest pursuant to Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 231, § 6C.
“In diversity cases, state law must be applied in
determining whether and how much pre-judgment interest
should be awarded.” Fratus v. Republic Western Ins. Co.,
147
F.3d 25, 30 (1 st Cir. 1998). Under Massachusetts law,
prejudgment interest “attaches automatically” to all
judgments for pecuniary damages in breach of contract
actions. O’Malley v. O’Malley,
419 Mass. 377, 381 (1995).
The statute provides that interest “shall be added by the
clerk of the court to the amount of damages.” Mass.Gen.Laws
ch. 231 §6C. It “commands a ministerial act.”
O’Malley, 419
Mass. at 381.
Here, the form of judgment entered was one that had
been agreed upon and proposed by the parties. It awarded
damages to OOI on certain claims, including a breach of
contract claim, “exclusive of interest and costs.” At the
time that judgment entered, some of OOI’s counter claims
against Trans National Communications, Inc. (“TNC”) had not
yet been adjudicated. The proposed form of judgment agreed
to by the parties and adopted by the court included the
following statement:
All other claims by [OOI] against [TNC],
including but not limited to claims for
attorney’s fees, are dismissed with
prejudice, having been knowingly and
intentionally waived by [OOI].
Judgment in that form entered on August 4, 1999. On
November 2, 1999, OOI filed its motion pursuant to
Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(a), for the district court to correct the
judgment to include prejudgment interest pursuant to
Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 231, § 6C.
Rule 60(a) allows for the correction “at any time”
of “clerical mistakes” or “errors arising from oversight or
omission.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(a). It “enables a court to
ensure that its orders, judgments, and other parts of its
record of proceedings are an accurate reflection of the true
actions and intent of the court and the parties.” 12 James
Wm. Moore, Moore’s Federal Practice § 60.02[1] (3d ed.).
“Rule 60(a) is not a vehicle . . . to change that which has
been deliberately done.” 11 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R.
Miller and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure §
2854 at 249 (2d ed. 1995).
In denying OOI’s Rule 60(a) motion, the district
court found that the failure of the judgment to include
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prejudgment interest did not result from oversight or
omission, but instead accurately reflected the agreement of
the parties “through an assented-to judgment in which all
but post-judgment interest was waived.” Memorandum and
Order, 1/25/00, pp. 5-6. The district court specifically
found, based upon the language of the assented-to judgment
and OOI’s course of conduct after judgment entered, that the
omission of prejudgment interest from the judgment was
consistent with the parties’ agreement. That finding is
supported by the record and is not clearly erroneous.
Because the district court supportably found that the
judgment’s failure to include prejudgment interest was an
accurate reflection of the parties’ intent, it properly
denied OOI relief pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(a).1
The district court’s denial of OOI’s Motion to
Correct a Clerical Mistake is affirmed. See Loc. R. 27(c).
1 OOI argues on appeal that its statutory right to
prejudgment interest is not waivable. However, OOI has not
cited, and we are not aware of, any authority supporting the
position that parties may not enter an agreement to waive their
right to prejudgment interest under Massachusetts law.
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