In the context of two current cases with individuals seeking damages from physical harm caused by smoking before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Dr. Tiago Duarte-Silva was contacted as an expert in pre- and post-judgment interest rates by Bloomberg Law.
According to the article, “Massachusetts has a fixed 12% interest rate for the time periods between the wrongdoing and the final judgment. The tobacco companies say that should be changed.”
In the article, Dr. Tiago Duarte-Silva was quoted saying, “If you were to lend money to that defendant, the kind of interest rate you could normally charge outside of the dispute is probably going to be in tune with what the normal interest rates are in the market at that time.”
Dr. Duarte-Silva has previously written articles on pre-award interest rates and whether they are a commercially reasonable rate. In the context of this case, he noted, “a 12% interest rate in this economic climate would only be reserved for very high-risk corporate partners.”
