Poole v. Miller

• Decision Date: 08 December 1995
• Docket Number: No. 525PA94,525PA94
• Citation: 342 N.C. 349,464 S.E.2d 409
• Parties: Nathania T. POOLE v. Geneane Renee MILLER.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 409

464 S.E.2d 409

342 N.C. 349

Nathania T. POOLE v. Geneane Renee MILLER.

No. 525PA94.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Dec. 8, 1995.

Michaels Jones Martin & Parris Law Offices, P.A. by E. Spencer Parris, Raleigh, for plaintiff-appellant.

Haywood, Denny & Miller, L.L.P. by George W. Miller, Jr. and John J. Padilla, Durham, for defendant-appellee.

LAKE, Justice.

Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging she was damaged by defendant's negligence in an automobile collision. Defendant answered denying negligence. On 13 April 1992, defendant tendered to plaintiff an offer of judgment in the amount of $6,000, together with costs accrued, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 68 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, which offer plaintiff failed to accept. The case proceeded to trial before a jury, Judge Henry W. Hight, Jr., presiding, during the 24 May 1993 Civil Session of Superior Court, Durham County. The jury returned a verdict against defendant and awarded plaintiff the sum of $5,721.73. Prior to the entering of judgment, plaintiff filed a motion for reasonable attorney's fees, portions of which were incurred after the offer of judgment was tendered, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 6-21.1. Plaintiff also submitted a bill of costs to be paid by defendant, which included the attorney's fees as well as expert witness's fees incurred after the filing of the offer of judgment and interest from the date of the filing of the complaint. Defendant contended in opposition to the award of attorney's fees that the jury verdict was less than the offer of judgment, and thus, plaintiff was precluded under Rule 68 from recovering costs incurred after the offer of judgment. Defendant also moved to tax costs against plaintiff.

The trial court made findings of fact, including that plaintiff's counsel charged an hourly rate of $100 and had recorded at least twenty hours of billable time. The trial court further found as fact that an attorney's fee of $2,000 was reasonable and fair. The trial court then concluded as a matter of law that "judgment finally obtained" under Rule 68 meant the judgment obtained, not the amount of the jury verdict. The judgment obtained in this case, which included interest and costs, amounted to more than defendant's $6,000 offer of judgment. Thus, the trial court granted plaintiff's motion for reasonable attorney's fees in the amount of $2,000 and denied defendant's motion to tax costs against plaintiff. The trial court then entered judgment in favor of plaintiff for the sum of $9,058.21, which sum was composed of the jury's verdict of $5,721.73 and the taxing of $3,336.48 in costs and interest against defendant, portions of which were incurred after the tendered offer of judgment.

Defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals from the order granting plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and denying defendant's motion to tax costs to plaintiff and from the entry of the final judgment and bill of costs. The Court of Appeals determined that this case was controlled by this Court's decision in Purdy v. Brown, 307 N.C. 93, 296 S.E.2d 459 (1982), and found that final judgment under Rule 68 was equivalent to the jury's verdict. See Poole v. Miller, 116 N.C.App. 435, 437, 448 S.E.2d 123, 124 (1994). The Court of Appeals then reasoned that because "judgment finally obtained" under Rule 68 should be construed as the jury's verdict of $5,721.73, which was less than defendant's offer of judgment for $6,000, Rule 68 required all of the court costs, attorney's fees, expert witness's fees and interest incurred after the date the offer of judgment was made to be borne by plaintiff. Id. at 438, 448 S.E.2d at 125. Thus, the Court of Appeals unanimously reversed that portion of the judgment awarding plaintiff the costs incurred after defendant tendered an offer of judgment and the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to tax costs against plaintiff. This Court granted plaintiff's petition for discretionary review on 29 December 1994. For the reasons discussed herein, we reverse the Court of Appeals.

The issue presented for resolution is whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that "judgment finally obtained" under Rule 68 means the jury's verdict. Plaintiff argues that the Court of Appeals' decision to equate "judgment finally obtained" with the jury's verdict ignores the plain meaning of the words chosen by the legislature and employed in Rule 68. We agree with plaintiff's contention in this regard.

In resolving issues of statutory construction, this Court must first ascertain legislative intent to assure that both the purpose and the intent of the legislation are carried out. Electric Supply Co. v. Swain Electrical Co., 328 N.C. 651, 403 S.E.2d 291 (1991). In undertaking this task, we look first to the language of the statute itself. Id. at 656, 403 S.E.2d at 294. When language used in the statute is clear and unambiguous, this Court must refrain from judicial construction and accord words undefined in the statute their plain and definite meaning. Utilities Comm. v. Edmisten, Atty. General, 291 N.C. 451, 232 S.E.2d 184 (1977). Bearing these well-established principles in mind we note that Rule 68, in pertinent part, provides:

At any time more than 10 days before the trial begins, a party defending against a claim may serve upon the adverse party an offer to allow judgment to be taken against him for the money or property or to the effect specified in his offer, with costs then accrued.... If the judgment finally obtained by the offeree is not more favorable than the offer, the offeree must pay the costs incurred after the making of the offer.

N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 68(a) (1990) (emphasis added). Thus, an offeree who does not accept an offer of judgment must bear those costs incurred from the date the offer of judgment was tendered only when the "judgment finally obtained" is not more favorable than the amount of the offer.

The word "judgment" is undefined in Rule 68. As this word is unambiguous, we shall accord it its plain meaning. Judgment means "[t]he final decision of the court resolving the dispute and determining the rights and obligations of the parties," and "[t]he law's last word in a judicial controversy." Black's Law Dictionary 841-42 (6th ed. 1990) (emphasis added). Further, this Court has stated before that " '[t]he rendering of a judgment is a judicial act, to be done by the court only.' " Eborn v. Ellis, 225 N.C. 386, 389, 35 S.E.2d 238, 240 (1945) (emphasis added) (quoting Mathews v. Moore, 6 N.C. 181, 182 (1812)). In contrast, the word "verdict" means "[t]he formal decision or finding made by a jury." Black's Law Dictionary 1559 (emphasis added). Thus, it is plain that only a court, and not a jury, renders a judgment. Accordingly, we are of the view that within the strictures of Rule 68, "judgment finally obtained" does not mean a jury's verdict.

Another strong indication that the legislature did not intend "judgment finally obtained" to mean the jury's verdict is the fact that the word "verdict" does not appear in Rule 68. We must assume that had the legislature chosen to equate "judgment finally obtained" with the jury's verdict, it would have done so within the confines of the rule. Further, the inclusion by the legislature of the words "finally obtained" to modify "judgment" we interpret as another signal that the legislature intended for "judgment finally obtained" to mean more than the amount awarded by the jury. See Builders, Inc. v. City of Winston-Salem, 302 N.C. 550, 556, 276 S.E.2d 443, 447 (1981) ("It is presumed that the legislature intended each portion [of a statute] to be given full effect and did not intend any provision to be mere surplusage"). Often, as is the case here, a final judgment is not entered in the exact amount of the jury's verdict. Rather, the verdict amount is modified to reflect applicable adjustments. It is this final resulting sum which is then entered by the court to stand as the final judgment in the particular case. Thus, we construe the legislature's choice of the phrase "judgment finally obtained" as indicative of the legislature's intent that it is the amount ultimately and finally obtained by the plaintiff from the court which serves as the measuring stick for purposes of Rule 68. For these reasons, we conclude that, within the confines of Rule 68, "judgment finally obtained" means the amount ultimately entered as representing the final judgment, i.e., the jury's verdict as modified by any applicable adjustments, by the respective court in the particular controversy, not simply the amount of the jury's verdict.

Plaintiff further contends that in addition to disregarding the plain meaning of Rule 68, the Court of Appeals inappropriately relied upon this Court's decision in Purdy v. Brown, 307 N.C. 93, 296 S.E.2d 459. We agree.

In Purdy, the defendant made an offer of judgment for the amount of $5,001, together with costs accrued, except attorney's fees. The plaintiff did not respond to the offer, and the case went to trial. The jury returned a verdict awarding plaintiff only $3,500, but the trial court ordered defendant to shoulder $1,200 in plaintiff's reasonable attorney's fees and $325 in expert witness's fees. Id. at 98, 296 S.E.2d at 463. This Court held that because defendant's offer of judgment in the amount of $5,001 was in excess of the jury's verdict of $3,500, and therefore not more favorable than the offer of judgment, the defendant was entitled to the protections afforded him by Rule 68. Accordingly, under Rule 68, plaintiff properly bore the burden of costs incurred after the date the offer of judgment was made. Id. The Court of Appeals, in the instant case, used this reasoning as support for its determination that "judgment finally obtained" meant the jury's verdict. See Poole, 116 N.C.App. at 437-38, 448 S.E.2d at 124-25.

In the case sub judice, plaintiff argues the Court of Appeals erred by relying upon...