West Virginia: Prejudgment Interest Rules
The short answer
Yes, through two statutory routes. In an action founded on contract, W. Va. Code § 56-6-27 lets the jury allow interest on principal due and include principal plus interest in its verdict, but the section sets no percentage. Section 56-6-31(b) separately lets the court award simple prejudgment interest on special or liquidated damages at two points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate for January 2 of the accrual year, subject to a 4% floor and 9% cap; a written agreement's own rate and terms control its obligation until judgment.
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This is the general rule in West Virginia. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current West Virginia law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | W. Va. Code § 56-6-27 governs jury-awarded interest in an action founded on contract; § 56-6-31(b) governs court-awarded prejudgment interest on special or liquidated damages and written-agreement obligations |
|---|---|
| Interest rate | Section 56-6-27 states no percentage. Under § 56-6-31(b)(1), the statutory rate is 2 points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate on January 2 of the accrual year, floor 4% and cap 9%; a written agreement's own rate and terms govern until judgment |
| When interest starts running | Section 56-6-27 has the jury find principal plus interest due at trial. Section 56-6-31(b)(1) keys the statutory rate to January 2 of the year the right to sue accrued and keeps that rate constant until judgment; the text does not state one universal event-date start for every special-damage item |
| Contract vs. tort claims | Contract-founded action: jury route under § 56-6-27, with no stated percentage. Special or liquidated damages in a judgment: court route under § 56-6-31(b). A written agreement's stated rate and terms apply to its obligation until judgment |
| Mandatory or discretionary | Discretionary under the two ordinary award clauses: the jury 'may allow' contract interest (§ 56-6-27), and the court 'may award' interest on all or some special or liquidated damages (§ 56-6-31(b)); a written-agreement obligation instead 'bears' its stated rate and terms |
| Simple or compound | Simple only: § 56-6-31(a) says every money judgment bears simple, not compounding, interest, and subsection (b) repeats that rule for special or liquidated damages |
| Claims against the government | The Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act begins at § 29-12A-1. For a political subdivision or its employee, § 29-12A-7(b)'s $500,000 noneconomic-loss cap expressly does not apply to court costs or interest on a judgment; that section does not independently create an interest award |
| Other exceptions | Written-agreement rate and terms displace the statutory § 56-6-31(b)(1) rate until judgment; § 56-6-31(b) reaches only special damages (including lost wages, medical expenses, tangible-property damage, and similar out-of-pocket costs) or liquidated damages; pre-2009 accruals have a separate preserved rule |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
West Virginia has two relevant statutory award provisions. W. Va. Code § 56-6-27 permits the jury in an action founded on contract to allow interest and return one aggregate of principal and interest due at trial. Section 56-6-31(b) separately permits the court to award prejudgment interest on all or some special or liquidated damages and supplies a distinct rule for an obligation based on a written agreement.
Interest rate
Section 56-6-27 sets no percentage for the jury's contract-interest calculation. The § 56-6-31(b)(1) statutory rate is two percentage points above the Fifth Federal Reserve District secondary discount rate in effect on January 2 of the year the right to sue accrued, with a 4% floor and 9% ceiling. If the obligation is based on a written agreement, subsection (b) applies the agreement's own rate and terms until judgment.
The West Virginia Judiciary's January 2026 notice announces 6.25% for judgments and decrees entered during 2026. The statute's prejudgment sentence, however, keys the rate to the year the right to sue accrued. Confirm the rate applicable to the claim's accrual year rather than using the notice's headline without that statutory timing check.
When interest starts running
Under § 56-6-27, the jury finds the combined principal and interest due at trial, and the resulting judgment bears interest from the verdict date. Under § 56-6-31(b)(1), January 2 of the accrual year selects the rate, which remains constant through judgment. The current subsection does not state one universal event-date start for every medical bill, wage loss, or other special-damage item.
Contract vs. tort claims
The statutes split by route and damage category. An action founded on contract has the jury provision in § 56-6-27. A judgment containing special damages or liquidated damages has the court-award provision in § 56-6-31(b), and a written-agreement obligation bears the agreement's rate and terms until judgment. The current text therefore should not be compressed into a categorical statement that every contract-related interest question belongs only to one section.
Mandatory or discretionary
The ordinary award clauses are discretionary. Section 56-6-27 says the jury "may allow" interest; § 56-6-31(b) says the court "may award" interest on all or some of the qualifying damages after settlements. The written-agreement sentence is phrased differently: the obligation "bears" the agreement's stated rate and terms until judgment.
Simple or compound
W. Va. Code § 56-6-31(a) says every West Virginia money judgment bears "simple, not compounding, interest." Subsection (b) repeats the same restriction for special or liquidated damages. Nothing in § 56-6-27 supplies a separate compounding rule.
Claims against the government
The Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act is identified in W. Va. Code § 29-12A-1. For political-subdivision cases, § 29-12A-7(b) caps noneconomic loss at $500,000 per person but expressly says that limitation does not apply to court costs or interest on a judgment for the plaintiff. The provision prevents that noneconomic cap from absorbing the interest; it does not itself establish that prejudgment interest is otherwise available on a particular claim.
Other exceptions
Section 56-6-31(b) defines special damages to include lost wages and income, medical expenses, tangible-personal-property damage, and similar out-of-pocket expenditures. Written-agreement terms displace the default rate until judgment. Subsection (b)(2) also preserves a separate rule for claims that accrued before 2009, so the current formula should not be applied backward without checking that provision.
What trips people up
The published annual number and the statutory timing sentence are easy to conflate. The Judiciary calls 6.25% the rate for judgments and decrees entered during 2026, while § 56-6-31(b)(1) selects the prejudgment rate by January 2 of the year the right to sue accrued. A claim that accrued in an earlier year needs that year's statutory-rate determination.
The other trap is treating § 56-6-27 and § 56-6-31 as mutually exclusive based only on a shorthand contract-versus-tort label. The current § 56-6-31(b) expressly addresses obligations based on written agreements in addition to special and liquidated damages.
Common questions
Who decides prejudgment interest? The jury may decide it under § 56-6-27 in an action founded on contract. The court decides an award on special or liquidated damages under § 56-6-31(b).
Does a contract's stated rate matter? Yes. Section 56-6-31(b) says a written-agreement obligation bears the agreement's rate and terms until judgment.
Is interest included inside the political-subdivision noneconomic cap? No. Section 29-12A-7(b) expressly says the cap does not apply to interest on a judgment, though a separate legal basis for the interest award is still required.
Statutes and sources
- W. Va. Code §§ 56-6-27 and 56-6-31 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/email/56-6/ (accessed 2026-08-16)
- W. Va. Code § 29-12A-7(b) — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/email/29-12A/ (accessed 2026-08-16)
- West Virginia Judiciary, 2026 interest-rate notice — https://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/news-publications/press-page/press-releases/supreme-court-sets-2026-interest-rate (accessed 2026-08-16)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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