Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich
A jury awarded Perella Weinberg Partners $287,517 on its claim for quantum meruit. The parties later disputed if Perella was entitled to pre-judgment interest on a quasi-contract claim. The court determined Perella was entitled to pre-judgment interest on its quantum meruit verdict. Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS) argued that quantum meruit, an equitable claim, was not subject to pre-judgment interest. Yet, the court stated where a plaintiff only sought money damages on a quantum meruit theory as compensation for work performed, the claim was not equitable, but legal. Thus, an award of pre-verdict interest under CPLR 5001 on a damages award on a claim to recover damages in quantum meruit was mandatory. SLS cited a Third Department case, Precision Foundations v. Ives, holding that pre-judgment interest was discretionary on a quantum meruit claim. The court noted the Second Circuit Court of Appeals observed that Precision was an aberration as it deviated from well settled law in the other three Appellate Divisions, and contradicted the Third Department's own established precedent. Hence, pre-judgment interest was awarded to Perella to be computed from the same date that breach of contract interest would run.
