The court should add notional pre-judgment interest to the jury’s general damages award when determining whether an offer to settle attracts the costs consequences of rule 49.10 of the Rules of Civil Procedure

Wilson v. Cranley, 2014 ONCA 844:

[20]       As the trial judge noted, s. 128 of the CJA provides that a person who is entitled to an order for the payment of money is entitled to an award of pre-judgment interest on the amount ordered, from the date the cause of action arose to the date of the order.  Pre-judgment interest is ordinarily awarded, absent special circumstances, to reflect the value of the money wrongfully withheld from the plaintiff: Andrew Kowalczewski Insurance Brokers Ltd. v. Hunt, [2001] O.J. No. 4429 (C.A.), at para. 13.  

[21]       As pre-judgment interest would, in the ordinary course, be added to the general damages award (Pilon) and the general damages award should be considered absent the statutory deductible (Rider), it follows that pre-judgment interest should be notionally added to the general damages award from the date of the notice of claim, for the purpose of determining whether the judgment was more favourable than the Offer.  Thus, contrary to the appellant's submission, adding notional pre-judgment interest is not an unwarranted extension of Riderand Pilon.  Rather, it is the logical conclusion that flows from the reasoning in the two cases.