Prejudgment interest awarded after an offer of judgment was made cannot be counted toward determining whether extra sanctions should be applied under the offer of judgment statute in F.S. 768.79.

In a 5-2 decision on September 9, the Supreme Court said the plaintiff in the case was not due attorney’s fees under the statute because without including interest accrued after the offer, the eventual judgment did not exceed 125% of the rejected offer.

The case involved a condominium association suing a pest control company over termite problems. The association eventually offered to settle all claims, including punitive damages, attorney’s fees, costs, and interest for $500,000.