On our original consideration of these three consolidated appeals, Bank South Leasing, Inc. v. Williams,
In No. 84-3350 Bank South appeals the failure of the trial judge to award post-judgment interest on the punitive damages award against MacArthur on the fraud claim. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), “[interest shall be allowed on any money judg
[2] In No. 84-3275 Bank South appeals the district court’s grant of a directed verdict to First National Bank of Orlando (“FNBO”) on Bank South’s fraud claim. In reviewing the directed verdict we must determine whether the evidence of fraud was of “such quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions.” Boeing Co. v. Shipman,
The third appeal, No. 84-3274, is more troublesome than the other two. Defendants Williams and Garner claim that the district court erred in failing to charge the jury properly concerning their asserted affirmative defenses and in improperly providing the jury with a supplemental written instruction defining estoppel without informing counsel for either side. We note first that in this circuit “[t]he proper standard of review on jury instructions is to view the challenged instructions ‘as part of the entire charge, in view of the allegations of the complaint, the evidence presented, and the arguments of counsel, to determine whether the jury was misled and whether the jury understood the issues.’ ” National Distillers and Chemical Corp. v. Brad’s Machine Products, Inc.,
Petitions for Rehearing GRANTED and Dismissal of Appeals VACATED.
No. 84-3350 district court’s judgment VACATED and REMANDED with instructions.
No. 84-3275 AFFIRMED.
No. 84-3274 REVERSED and REMANDED.
Notes
. We note that the trial court did instruct the jury on the unconscionability defense but not the other three.
. We find it unnecessary to reach the issue of whether the trial judge’s supplementary written instruction to the jury concerning estoppel was error since the jury never reached the issue. Because the jury rejected all four affirmative defenses below, it was unnecessary for the jury to consider whether the defendants were es-topped from raising them. We caution, however, that this conduct on the part of the trial judge was likely improper. See United States v. United States Gypsum Co.,
