Once again, a court of appeals has weighed in on the question of calculating net worth for purposes of supersedeas. The Dallas Court of Appeals recently held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to include the judgment as a liability in calculating the judgment debtor’s net worth. The court relied on the fact that there was expert testimony that the judgment should not be included under generally accepted accounting principles. Noting the standard of review was abuse of discretion, the court of appeals held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the judgment from the net worth calculation because evidence was presented that supported the trial court’s ruling. The opinion does not answer the question of whether a trial court has discretion to include the judgment amount as a liability. It seems the answer turns on the evidence presented to the trial court. The court of appeals’ opinion in Anderton v. Cawley can be found here.