Virtually all judgments awarding a plaintiff (or counter-claiming defendant) a monetary judgment accrues interest until the judgment is satisfied (paid off). Hence, if the judgment debtor takes an appeal and posts an appellate bond guarantying payment if the judgment is upheld, the judgment accrues interest while the appeal is pending.
By far, the interest rate for most judgments granted by a New York state court, typically the New York State Supreme Court (the trial level court), New York City Civil Court or other state, city or county court in New York, accrues at a staggering 9%. That rate is much higher than what is allowed by the federal courts (e.g., United States District Court) or the New Jersey state courts. Those rates, which are set according to current rates and indices, are typically only a fraction of the New York state rate. For this reason, plaintiffs are motivated to sue in a New York state court, while defendants are motivated to “remove” cases filed in state court to federal court when a basis for federal jurisdiction applies.
Lastly, mention should be made that in certain situations, typically cases where a monetary judgment is entered against a state agency, municipal entity or public benefit corporation, much lower rates are set by specific state statutes.