Interest Term In Consent Judgment Held Binding On Insurer
The Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that in a case where the plaintiff and the insured entered into a consent judgment wherein the insured admitted liability and agreed to a judgment of $275,000 with interest to accrue at 12% a year, which judgment was subsequently approved by a Superior Court at a reasonableness hearing, the 12% rate of interest was binding on Scottsdale instead of the ordinary rate of interest provided for under RCW 4.56.110(3) (that would have resulted in interest accruing at a rate of 7.18%). In Jackson v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 59606-3-I (Wash. App. December 17, 2007), the court ruled that when parties to a tort suit settle their dispute in a manner that calls for a specified rate of interest, the resulting judgment is founded on a written contract rather than tortious conduct and is properly subject to the higher rate of interest provided for by RCW 4.56.110.
