Townsend v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

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In 2010, a final judgment was entered awarding Lyantie Townsend compensatory damages and punitive damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The judgment also awarded post-judgment interest. In 2012, an amended final judgment was entered awarding compensatory and punitive damages and ordering that the total sum would “bear interest as provided by law” from April 29, 2010. In 2014, R.J. Reynolds filed a motion to determine the rate of interest payable on the amended final judgment, contending that a 2011 amendment to Fla. Stat. 55.03(3) governed the accrual of interest on the judgment after the amended statute became effective. The trial court denied the motion. The First District Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that the 2011 amendment applied to the judgment. The Supreme Court quashed the First District’s decision, holding that the 2011 amendment to section 55.03(3) does not apply to a judgment entered between October 1998 and June 30, 2011. View "Townsend v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co." on Justia Law