Section 69 Recovery of Prejudgment Interest in Equity Actions

• Library: Damages 2012

The general rule is that Missouri equity courts are bound to follow Missouri prejudgment interest statutes when the statutory language applies to the subject matter of the litigation. Leggett v. Mo. State Life Ins. Co., 342 S.W.2d 833 (Mo. banc 1960). In Leggett, an equitable action for accounting involving the assets of an insurance company, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling awarding prejudgment interest at the rate of four percent and remanded with instructions to award interest at the then-applicable six percent statutory rate. The Court said the action fell squarely within the six percent interest provision of § 408.020, then RSMo 1949, for actions on written contracts when no other rate is agreed on. The Court said that, under the circumstances, the...