Toledo v. Iglesia Ni Christo

Joaquin Vargas died in a construction accident in September 2002. Jose Toledo (plaintiff), the administrator of Vargas’s estate, brought a wrongful-death and negligence action against the Iglesia Ni Christo (church) (defendant). In August 2006, the supreme court granted summary judgment to Toledo with respect to liability. The supreme court conducted the damages trial in November and December 2007. With respect to future damages, the supreme court instructed the jury to determine Vargas’s economic value to his wife and children on the date of Vargas’s death. The jury awarded Toledo more than $565,000 for the period between the accident and the verdict and over $3.5 million in future damages. Toledo proposed that the supreme court award him a total of $4.2 million in future damages, which Toledo computed by, among other things, discounting the future-damages award to the date of Vargas’s death and applying New York’s 9 percent statutory-interest rate to this discounted amount for the period between Vargas’s death and the damages verdict. The church’s proposed damages order did not discount the future damages to the date of Vargas’s death or include any preverdict interest. The supreme court adopted Toledo’s proposed damages order. The church appealed to the appellate division. Before that appeal, the parties stipulated that the sole appeal issue was whether the supreme court properly discounted the future-damages award and applied preverdict interest for the period between Vargas’s death and the damages verdict. The appellate division initially reversed but, on rehearing, affirmed the supreme court. The church appealed, arguing that Toledo would enjoy a windfall if allowed to collect preverdict interest on the future wrongful-death damages because such interest already was included in the discounted award at the time of the verdict.