Plaintiff brought a wrongful conviction lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Chicago after his sentence for murder was vacated. A jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded damages for pain, suffering, and loss of a normal life. The district court awarded him prejudgment interest for the more than six years it took for plaintiff to obtain the judgment in his favor. The defendant appealed the award of prejudgment interest, arguing that it was not available as a matter of law for non-economic damages or, in the alternative, that the district court abused its discretion. The Seventh Circuit affirmed in all respects but remanded with instructions for the district court to recalculate the interest award after apportioning the jury’s verdict between past and future damages because future damages are not interest-eligible. (BRENNAN and MALDONADO, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Prejudgment Interest