People's Bank of Greenville v. Aetna Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 07 November 1896
• Citation: 76 F. 548
• Parties: PEOPLE'S BANK OF GREENVILLE v. AETNA INS. CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

76 F. 548

PEOPLE'S BANK OF GREENVILLE v. AETNA INS. CO.

United States Circuit Court, D. South Carolina.

November 7, 1896

Teenholm Rhett & Miller and Julius H. Heyward, for judgment creditors.

Cothran Wells, Ansel & Cothran, opposed.

SIMONTON Circuit Judge.

At the trial of this case, an action at law, the defendant obtained judgment against the plaintiff. This judgment, by the law of South Carolina, covered the costs of the case, and entitled the defendant to recover them from the plaintiff. Code S.C Sec. 323; Shuford v. Shingler, 30 S.C. 612, 8 S.E 799. These costs are in the nature of damages. Kapp v. Loyns, 13 S.C. 288. And in them are always included the costs paid by the party to his own witnesses. For these costs the losing party is in no sense liable until and because he has lost his case. The defendant accordingly entered up his judgment against the plaintiff for the costs, taxed by the clerk of this court in the sum of $1,461.15, on the 11th day of October, 1895. A writ of error was sued out by plaintiff, and the cause was heard in the circuit court of appeals (20 C.C.A. 630, 74 F. 507), which affirmed the judgment below. The plaintiff, on 13th day of June, 1896, paid to the clerk the amount thus taxed, and asks that the judgment be satisfied. This defendant declines to do, unless the sum of $38.22 more be paid to him. This sum is the interest on the aggregate of the amount paid by defendant to its witnesses, calculated from the day judgment was entered to the day when the money was paid on the judgment. This amount for interest has been deposited with the clerk pending the decision upon this point made by defendant, which the plaintiff contravenes. The question is, can interest be calculated on a judgment for costs only?

The law of this court is found in section 966, Rev. St. U.S.:

'Sec. 966. Interest shall be allowed on all judgments in civil causes, recovered in a circuit or district court, and may be levied by the marshal under process of execution issued thereon, in all cases where, by the law of the state in which such court is held, interest may be levied under process of execution on judgments recovered in the courts of such state; and it shall be calculated from the date of the judgment, at such rate as is allowed by law on judgments recovered in the courts of such state.'

This section has been commented on and thus construed:

'When, by the law of a state, the judgment of a court carries a certain rate of interest until paid, the same rate of interest is to be allowed in the circuit and district courts of the United States. ' Perkins v. Fourniquet, 14 How. 313; National Bank v. Mechanics' Nat. Bank, 94 U.S. 439.

At common law, judgments do not carry costs. This is a creation of statute. Trenholm v. Bumpfield, 3 Rich.Law, 376; Church v. Washington, Id. 380. Under the law of South Carolina, interest was allowed on judgments in all cases in which the cause of action upon which the judgment was recovered carried interest. 6 St.at Large (A.D. 1815) p 4; Thomas v. Wilson, 3 McCord, 166. Under this statute, costs, not being a part of the cause of action, did not carry interest, and, in the entry of judgment and issuance of execution, interest was collected on the verdict only, and not on costs. This continued to be the law until 1866. In that year (13 St.at Large, 463) this language was used: 'In all money decrees and judgments of courts enrolled or entered, * * * the legal interest shall be at the rate of seven per centum per annum. ' Has this changed the law so as to make interest chargeable on all judgments, irrespective of the...