The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings Wednesday in *Evangelia Bilalis v. Wallace Drennan and Zurich American Insurance Company*, resolving a dispute over when legal interest begins accruing in tort judgments. The court held that legal interest properly accrues from the date of judicial demand, even when a signed judgment mistakenly references a different date.

Chief Justice Weimer wrote the majority opinion affirming both the district court and Court of Appeal rulings. Justice Guidry dissented and assigned reasons, though those reasons were not detailed in the released opinion. Retired Judge Eric R. Harrington served as justice ad hoc, sitting for Justice Hughes who recused himself from the matter.

The case arose from a December 22, 2020 lawsuit filed by plaintiff Evangelia Bilalis, who alleged she sustained injuries when her vehicle was rear-ended by a car owned and operated by Wallace Drennan. Zurich American Insurance Company provided insurance coverage for Drennan's vehicle.

The central legal issue focused on a judgment that awarded judicial interest from the date of judicial demand, consistent with Louisiana Revised Statute 13:4203. The court's ruling clarifies that substantive rights regarding interest accrual are protected even when clerical errors appear in judgment language regarding dates.

The decision reinforces established precedent on tort interest calculations and provides guidance for practitioners on how courts will interpret judgments containing conflicting date references for interest accrual purposes.