In re Estate of Jack Michael Bergquist
Annotate this CasePetitioner Eddie Nash & Sons, Inc. appealed a circuit court order ruling that respondent the Estate of Jack Michael Bergquist (the estate), owed petitioner $544.21, and excluding the petitioner's claim for post-judgment interest. In November 2001, petitioner brought a small claims complaint against the decedent for $5,000.00 owed pursuant to an agreement to purchase logging equipment. In February 2002, the court entered a default judgment for the petitioner for $5,136.99, including costs and interest. After the decedent failed to make any payment on the judgment, petitioner filed a motion for periodic payments. In 2003, the district court entered a periodic payment order requiring monthly payments of $50 to begin in May 2003 until the "judgment and all costs are paid in full." The order listed the total due as $5,394.26, but did not indicate why that total had increased more than $250 in the thirteen months following entry of the original judgment. Neither the 2002 judgment nor the 2003 order made explicit reference to the petitioner's entitlement to continuing post-judgment interest. The decedent made payments under the order each month until May 2011; petitioner was made aware of his death in June 2011. Petitioner filed a creditor's claim against the estate that included $3,697.57 for "Balance of Court Judgment," and requested the total claim "Plus Interest." The estate objected to the claim, which petitioner later amended to consist only of the $3,697.57 for the remaining balance on the court judgment, "plus statutory post[-]judgment interest on that amount." At a hearing on the objection, Susan Nash (counsel for petitioner), stated her belief, based on her own extensive experience in small claims court, that judgments in small claims actions always included continuing post-judgment interest. The estate agreed that petitioner was owed $544.21 as the remaining balance due on the $5,394.26 specified in the periodic payment order, but argued that post-judgment interest had not been awarded, and should be excluded from the claim, because the periodic payment order was silent on the subject. The probate division agreed, and entered judgment for the petitioner for $544.21. On appeal, petitioner argued that the probate division erred when it excluded its claim for statutory post-judgment interest. The estate countered that petitioner's claim for post-judgment interest was barred by res judicata and was an attempt to retroactively modify the 2003 periodic payment order. Because petitioner was entitled, as a matter of law, to continuing post-judgment interest, the Supreme Court concluded the probate division erred in excluding its claim for that interest.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.