This court remanded Security Life Insurance Company v. Clark , 255 Ga. App. 14 566 SE2d 2 2002.1 On remand, the trial court re-entered judgment as directed by this court against both Security Life and its supersedeas surety and co-defendant, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company and pared away the punitive damages and the jury award of attorney fees and litigation costs. Security VI , supra at 24-25. Now Security Life appeals from the entry of this last judgment, contending that the trial court computed interest on a judgment that had been fully paid and satisfied by St. Paul Fire. On the face of the judgment, the trial court set forth its calculations of pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. St. Paul did not appeal and fully paid and satisfied the judgment. Brady and Clarice Clark transferred and assigned this judgment and issued execution to St. Paul. Such judgment is res judicata between the Clarks and St. Paul and St. Paul’s privies, because it was never appealed by St. Paul. See Dargan, Whitington & Conner, Inc. v. Kitchen , 138 Ga. App. 414, 416-417 1 226 SE2d 482 1976. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. Security Life contends that the trial court erred in awarding pre-judgment interest under OCGA § 51-12-14, because the attorney fee and litigation award was subsumed in the judgment entered on remand and such damages were reversed on appeal. We do not agree.
On September 25, 1995, in compliance with OCGA § 51-12-14, the Clarks made separate demands for settlement upon Security Life and all defendants for payment of $2,000,000 in settlement of their claims for a total demand of $4,000,000, and Security Life and the other defendants refused to settle within 30 days. At trial, the jury awarded $4,073,000 for fraud and, additionally, attorney fees and expenses of litigation under OCGA § 13-6-11 in the amount of $792,902.08; the judgment entered on June 13, 1996, for attorney fees and litigation costs of $306,290.98 under OCGA § 9-15-14 survived the appeal. The attorney fees and expenses of litigation awarded by the jury must be retried, because such attorney fees and litigation costs were not apportioned and returned separately for the successful fraud claim from the reversed RICO and the directed verdict against the wrongful recission claims. Security VI , supra at 24. Prior to the judgment, the trial court awarded attorney fees that were never paid by Security Life. Thus, the Clarks’ jury verdict for fraud damages and the court-awarded attorney fees exceeded their statutory demand, and the trial court found that they were entitled to pre-judgment interest. OCGA § 51-12-14. Since neither Security Life nor St. Paul raised such error on prior appeal, pre-judgment interest was affirmed on appeal. OCGA § 9-11-60 h; Security IV , supra.
