Gunderson

INTRODUCTION

A jury awarded respondent Jon M. Gunderson $1.7 million in compensatory damages and $800,000 in punitive damages against appellants Richard Wall and Welded Fixtures, Inc. Appellants paid the judgment and filed an appeal. In a prior decision, we affirmed the jury’s award of compensatory damages, but ruled there was insufficient evidence to support punitive damages. Gunderson voluntarily repaid appellants $800,000, representing the punitive damages award.

Appellants then filed a motion in the trial court seeking restitution for interest that had accrued on the punitive damages payment during the pendency of the appeal. The court, finding inequitable conduct during the postjudgment proceedings, denied the motion. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Gunderson’s Lawsuits Against Christopher Gruys, Richard Wall and Welded Fixtures, Inc.

In March 2004, respondent Jon Gunderson filed a complaint against his former tax accountant, Christopher Gruys, for fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion (Gruys Action). The case proceeded to trial and, in December 2006, a jury awarded Gunderson approximately $11 million. Gunderson…