Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/bill_status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb420%20intr.htm&yr=2012&sesstype=RS&i=420
Timestamp: 2018-04-22 01:24:59
Document Index: 580751541

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(By Senators Hall, K. Facemyer, Nohe, Barnes, Boley and Jenkins)
[Introduced January 25, 2012; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new chapter, designated §55A-1-1, §55A-1-2, §55A-1-3, §55A-1-4, §55A-2-1, §55A-2-2, §55A-2-3, §55A-2-4, §55A-2-5, §55A-2-6, §55A-2-7, §55A-2-8, §55A-2-9, §55A-3-1, §55A-3-2, §55A-4-1, §55A-4-2, §55A-4-3, §55A-4-4, §55A-4-5, §55A-4-6, §55A-5-1, §55A-5-2, §55A-5-3, §55A-5-4, §55A-5-5, §55A-5-6, §55A-5-7, §55A-5-8, §55A-6-1, §55A-6-2, §55A-6-3, §55A-6-4, §55A-6-5, §55A-7-1, §55A-7-2, §55A-7-3, §55A-7-4, §55A-7-5, §55A-7-6, §55A-7-7, §55A-7-8, §55A-8-1, §55A-8-2, §55A-9-1, §55A-9-2, §55A-10-1, §55A-10-2, §55A-10-3, §55A-11-1, §55A-11-2, §55A-11-3, §55A-11-4, §55A-11-5, §55A-11-6, §55A-11-7, §55A-11-8, §55A-11-9, §55A-11-10, §55A-11-11, §55A-11-12, §55A-12-1, §55A-12-2, §55A-12-3, §55A-12-4, §55A-12-5 and §55A-12-6, all relating to reforming the civil justice system; providing a short title; stating legislative findings and declarations of purposes; providing that chapter is not applicable to certain actions; defining terms used in chapter; relating to authorizing a new court to be known as the Intermediate Court of Appeals; requiring the court to be operational by January 1, 2014; establishing northern and southern districts; providing three judges for each district; establishing qualifications for judges; establishing jurisdiction of the court; providing that all appeals will be reviewed and a written decision on the merits issued; providing that all appeals will be filed with Supreme Court of Appeals; providing that Supreme Court will either keep the appeal or send it to the Intermediate Court; providing that appeals in certain administrative cases are discretionary; authorizing appeals from Intermediate Court to the Supreme Court; authorizing Governor to make initial appointments by July 1, 2013; creating staggered terms; providing for elections for ten-year terms after initial appointments; authorizing a Chief Judge of the Intermediate Court; authorizing staff for the court and the judges; providing for compensation and expenses of judges and staff; providing for temporary assignment of circuit court judges; authorizing the Supreme Court to provide the facilities, furniture, fixtures and equipment for the Intermediate Court; establishing precedential effect of Intermediate Court orders and decisions; providing that the budget of the Intermediate Court will be part of the Supreme Court budget; prohibiting medical monitoring relief absent manifest present injury or disease caused by a defendant; providing for venue reform; relating to the application of the doctrine of forum non conveniens when civil actions have both a resident and nonresident plaintiff; providing for parties to make a motion that a case would more properly be heard in a forum outside this state; providing for statute of limitations expiring in the alternative forum while the claim is pending in this state; providing for proper dismissal of an action for forum non conveniens purposes; providing for application to class representatives; requiring courts granting motions to stay or dismissal actions for forum non conveniens purposes to set forth specific findings of fact and conclusions of law; providing standards to determine the competency of expert witnesses; providing standards for opinion testimony by lay witnesses; providing standards of admission for expert witness testimony; requiring a basis for expert witness testimony; barring certain types of expert witness testimony; mandating pretrial hearings and disclosures of expert testimony; providing for the interpretation of the competency of expert witnesses; establishing a standard of review; regarding the recovery of punitive damages; establishing what a plaintiff must prove and the trier of fact must find before the trier of fact may award punitive damages; stating circumstances when punitive damages may not be awarded and a defendant may not be held liable for punitive damages; providing the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded against large employers and the amount that may be awarded against all others; providing maximum amounts which may be awarded on multiple punitive damages awards for the same course of conduct; providing for the bifurcation of a civil action in which punitive damages are sought when requested by a defendant; stating the conditions under which punitive damages may be assessed against a principal or employer for an act of an agent or employee and against an association, limited liability entity or partnership for the acts of a member or partner; predicating actions for damages upon principles of comparative fault; establishing the comparative fault standard; abolishing joint liability and implementing several liability; establishing how to consider the fault of nonparties; establishing how to consider the fault of, and the amounts paid by, settling parties; providing for the use of special interrogatories; clarifying fault may be imputed to another person who was acting as an agent or servant of another; allowing the assessment of a percentage of fault for failing to take reasonable precautionary measures that are available; precluding the allocation of fault to a person such as a seller, distributor or installer on a strict product liability theory where that person did not contribute to the alleged defect; providing for the burden of proof and limitations; providing for immunity of premises owners from civil liability in certain circumstances; reducing damage awards by collateral source payments; providing how damage reductions shall be determined; stating the effects of such determinations upon the trial; providing for a statute of repose; establishing a general eighteen-year warranty for products liability actions and an exception for cases where there is an express warranty for more than eighteen years; providing that noneconomic damages are recoverable in actions where damages were authorized at the time this bill became law; providing maximum amounts that may be recovered for noneconomic losses based on physical injury and nonphysical injury; providing for a loser pays civil justice system; providing for the recovery of attorney’s fees by prevailing party in certain cases and against certain parties; establishing a procedure for recovery of attorney’s fees; presuming usual and customary attorney’s fees; providing courts may take judicial notice of the usual and customary attorney’s fees; requiring the loser pays article be liberally construed to promote its underlying purpose; providing defendants and plaintiffs with the option of electing to apply the provisions of the loser pays article to civil actions; allowing for the revocation of an election; providing an election does not apply to nonsuited or dismissed suited actions in certain cases; providing for awarding litigation costs; providing for the liability of attorneys; providing for the applicability of other law; requiring the West Virginia Supreme Court adopt rules to implement this chapter; providing for repeal of conflicting laws; providing for applicability and severability of this chapter; clarifying no additional cause of action is created by this chapter; and providing this chapter shall become effective immediately upon passage by the Legislature and approval by the Governor.
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the “Civil Justice Reform Act of 2012.”
(1) The citizens of this state are entitled to a fair civil justice system which provides adequate and reasonable compensation for those persons suffering injury under the state’s civil liability law;
(2) It is the duty and responsibility of the Legislature to also ensure that the state’s civil liability law is not abusive or unfair to those it is supposed to serve;
(3) In recent years, West Virginia’s civil liability system has regularly ranked as one of the worst in the nation for legal fairness;
(4) Since 2007, West Virginia has been home to several of the nation’s largest lawsuit verdicts, despite the state’s relatively small population;
(C) Cause defendants, including boards of education and other governmental agencies, to settle cases out of fear of large verdicts rendered pursuant to the civil liability laws and in order to avoid the high costs, inconvenience, and uncertainty of litigation;
(E) Undermine the ability of companies in West Virginia to compete nationally and internationally, and decrease the number of jobs and the amount of production capital in the state’s economy;
(F) Cause citizens and small businesses to live in fear of lawsuits against them wherein they may be bankrupted or driven out of business by legal fees and expenses in defending them and by exorbitant settlements extorted by threat of trials that have taken on the characteristics of a lottery; and
(G) Add to the high cost of liability insurance, making it difficult for individuals, producers, consumers, volunteers, and nonprofit organizations to protect themselves with any degree of confidence at a reasonable cost.
(6) Can unjustly and unfairly hold one defendant jointly liable for the total damages assessed against multiple defendants even though that one defendant may have been as little as one percent at fault in causing plaintiff’s injuries;
(7) Deny any reduction in damage awards for compensatory payments received from collateral sources, such as workers’ compensation and employer disability programs;
(8) Allow lawsuits to be brought for a claimed defective product made twenty, thirty, or more years ago;
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that there exists, for the foregoing reasons, clear social and economic problems associated with our civil justice system and a need to correct those problems by restoring rationality, certainty, and fairness to the civil justice system through the enactment of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2012.
(1) "Abusive civil action" means a civil action that a reasonable person would conclude is a misuse of the civil justice process.
(2) “Actual malice” means specific intent to cause personal injury, death, or damage to the property or the reputation of another.
(3) “Agent” means a person who is authorized to act for another through employment by contract or apparent authority.
(4) "Claim" means a request for monetary damages filed in a civil action, other than a request for reimbursement of attorney's fees or other costs of litigation in a civil action, if the request is for:
(5) “Clear and convincing evidence” means that the evidence presented by a party during the trial is more highly probable to be true than not and the jury or judge has a firm belief or conviction the evidence proves the issue for which it is asserted.
(6) “Collateral source” means the United States Social Security Act, as amended; any state or federal disability, workers' compensation, or other act designed to provide income replacement, medical, or other benefits; any accident, health or sickness, income or wage replacement insurance, income disability insurance, casualty or property insurance including automobile and homeowners' insurance, or any other insurance except life insurance; any contract or agreement of any group, organization, partnership, or corporation to provide, pay for, or reimburse the cost of medical, hospital, dental, or other health care services or provide similar benefits; or any contractual or voluntary wage continuation plan provided by an employer or otherwise, or any other system intended to provide wages during a period of disability.
(7) “Collateral source payments” means money paid or payable by collateral sources for losses or expenses, including, but not limited to, property damage, wage loss, medical costs, rehabilitation costs, services, and other costs incurred by or on behalf of a plaintiff for which that plaintiff is claiming recovery through a tort action commenced in any of the courts in this state.
(8) “Comparative fault” means the degree to which the fault of a person was a proximate cause of an alleged personal injury or death or damage to property, expressed as a percentage.
(9) “Compensatory damages” means money awarded to compensate a plaintiff for economic and noneconomic loss.
(10) “Conscious, reckless, and outrageous indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of others” means an act or omission which when viewed objectively from the standpoint of the defendant at the time of its occurrence involves an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others, and of which the defendant has actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeds with conscious disregard of the rights, safety or welfare of others.
(11) “Damage” or “damages” means all claims under common law or statutory and equitable causes of action for actual damages, including economic and noneconomic damages, and additional damages, including knowing damages, punitive damages, treble damages, penalties, prejudgment interest, postjudgment interest, attorney's fees, litigation costs, costs of court, and all other damages of any kind.
(12) “Defendant” means, for purposes of determining an obligation to pay money to another under this chapter, any person against whom a claim is asserted by a plaintiff including a counterdefendant, cross-defendant or third-party defendant.
(13) “Durable good” means any product, or any component of any such product, which:
(B) Is either used in a trade or business, held for the production of income, or sold or donated to a governmental or private entity for the production of goods, training, demonstration, or any other similar purpose; and
(14) “Economic loss” means objectively verifiable monetary losses, such as medical expenses, loss of earnings and earning capacity, cost of replacement services, loss of income stream due to death, burial costs, loss of business or employment opportunities, lost profits, and loss due to property destruction or damage, to the extent recovery for any such monetary loss is allowed under any present applicable state law.
(15) “Employer” includes, but is not limited to, a parent, subsidiary, affiliate, division, or department of the employer. If the employer is an individual, the individual shall be considered an employer under this chapter only if the subject of the tort action is related to the individual's capacity as an employer.
(16) “Fault” means an act or omission of a person which is a proximate cause of injury or death to another person or persons, damage to property, or economic injury, including, but not limited to, negligence, malpractice, medical professional liability, strict product liability, absolute liability, liability under section two, article four, chapter twenty-three of this code, or assumption of the risk.
(17) "Financial interest" means a financial interest held by an attorney under an agreement between the attorney and a plaintiff or defendant in which the amount or the payment of the fee for the attorney's legal services is contingent wholly or partly on the outcome of the civil action.
(18) “Large employer” means an employer who employs more than twenty-five persons on a full-time permanent basis, or its equivalent, or has annual revenues of more than $5 million.
(19) “Legal resident” means an individual who is a resident of West Virginia at the time the cause of action arose or at the time the action is filed without regard to the individual's country of citizenship or national origin. The term does not include an individual who adopts a residence in this state in bad faith for purposes of avoiding the application of this chapter.
(20) “Natural person” means a human being that has the capacity for rights and duties.
(21) “Noneconomic loss” means subjective, nonmonetary losses, such as pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, and humiliation, to the extent recovery for any nonmonetary loss is allowed under any present, applicable state law.
(22) “Person” means any individual, corporation, trust, company, incorporated or unincorporated association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, business entity, and any agency, unit or instrumentality of federal, state or local government.
(23) “Physical injury” means an actual injury to the body proximately caused by the act complained of and does not include physical symptoms of the mental anguish or emotional distress for which recovery is sought when the symptoms are caused by, rather than the cause of, the pain, distress, or other mental suffering.
(24) “Plaintiff” means, for purposes of determining a right to recover under this chapter, any person asserting a claim.
(25) “Product” means any object, substance, mixture, or raw material in a gaseous, liquid, or solid state: (A) Which is capable of delivery itself or as an assembled whole, in a mixed or combined state, or as a component part or ingredient; (B) which is produced for introduction into trade or commerce; (C) which has intrinsic economic value; and (D) which is intended for sale or lease for commercial or personal use.
The term “product” does not include: (A) Human tissue, human organs, human blood, and human blood products; (B) electricity, water delivered by a utility, natural gas or steam; or (C) intellectual property, including computer software.
(26) “Product liability action” means a civil action brought against any defendant, including defendants who did not manufacture or sell a product, on any theory for damage caused by a product.
(a) In accordance with Article VIII, Section one of the West Virginia Constitution, the “West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals” is created. The court shall be established and operable on or before January 1, 2014. The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals “Intermediate Court” shall be divided into two districts. The two intermediate courts of appeals shall be designated as "Intermediate Court, Northern District” or “Northern District” and "Intermediate Court, Southern District" or “Southern District.” Each court shall be located in the district it serves. The Intermediate Court is a court of record and shall issue, as appropriate in each appeal, written opinions, orders and decisions.
(b) The Northern District shall be comprised of the following judicial circuits: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-sixth.
(c) The Southern District shall be comprised of the following judicial circuits: sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth, and thirty-first.
(b) An Intermediate Court judge must be a resident of the district where he or she will preside, a member in good standing of the West Virginia State Bar, and admitted to practice law in this state for at least ten years prior to appointment or election.
(b) Petitions for appeal shall be filed with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals “Supreme Court”. Those cases for which the Supreme Court elects not to grant petitions for appeal shall be transferred to the Intermediate Court.
(c) The Intermediate Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from final judgments or orders entered by a circuit court in any civil or criminal case, appeals from the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, and the Public Service Commission.
(a) There shall be three judges for each district of the Intermediate Court. The Governor shall, on or before July 1, 2013, appoint the initial judges from names submitted by the Judicial Vacancy Advisory Committee established pursuant to section three-a, article ten, chapter three of the West Virginia Code. The committee shall recommend three qualified nominees for each position for Intermediate Court judge. If the Governor does not select a nominee for the position of judge from the names provided by the committee, he or she shall notify the committee of that circumstance and the committee shall provide additional names for consideration by the Governor.
(c) Of the initial appointments for each district, one judge shall be appointed for a term of four years, one judge shall be appointed for a term of six years and one judge shall be appointed for a term of eight years. Upon the expiration of each term, the judge’s position shall be filled by election, for a ten-year term, in the same manner as with the Supreme Court.
Notwithstanding the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Bower v. Westinghouse, 522 S.E.2d 424 (W. Va. 1999), in any civil action in which an individual seeks relief of any kind including damages and equitable relief for the wrongful or tortious acts of any person, relief may not include future medical monitoring, testing, treatment, services, surveillance, or procedures of any kind, including the costs and expenses associated therewith, unless the future medical monitoring, testing, examination, treatment, services, surveillance or procedures are directly related to a present manifest physical injury or disease which was caused by or directly related to tortious or wrongful acts and which was found to have caused present physical impairment.
It is the intent of the Legislature that this legislation overrules the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Bower v. Westinghouse, 522 S.E.2d 424 (W. Va. 1999).
§55A-4-1. Forum non conveniens.
In any civil action if a court of this state, upon a timely written motion of a party, finds that in the interest of justice and for the convenience of the parties a claim or action would be more properly heard in a forum outside this state, the court shall decline to exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of forum non conveniens and shall stay or dismiss the claim or action or dismiss any plaintiff. The plaintiff’s choice of a forum is entitled to great deference but this preference may be diminished when the plaintiff is a nonresident and the cause of action did not arise in this state. In determining whether to grant a motion to stay or dismiss an action or dismiss a plaintiff under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, the court shall consider:
In actions filed pursuant to Rule 23 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, the provisions of this article shall apply only to the class representative(s).
If a witness is not testifying as an expert, the testimony of the witness in the forms of opinions or inferences is limited to those opinions or inferences which are: (1) Rationally based on the perception of the witness; (2) helpful to a clear understanding of the witness’ testimony or the determination of a fact in issue; and (3) not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of section two of this article.
If scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if: (1) The testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data; (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.
(a) A witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may only offer expert testimony with respect to a particular field in which the expert is qualified.
(b) An expert witness may receive a reasonable and customary fee for the rendering of professional services provided that the testimony of an expert witness shall not be admitted if any the compensation is contingent on the outcome of any claim or case with respect to which the testimony is being offered.
If the witness is testifying as an expert, then upon motion of a party, the court shall hold a pretrial hearing to determine whether the witness qualifies as an expert and whether the expert’s testimony satisfies the requirements of sections two, three and four of this article. The court shall allow sufficient time for a hearing and shall rule on the qualifications of the witness to testify as an expert and whether or not the testimony satisfies the requirements of sections two, three and four of this article. The hearing and ruling shall be completed no later than the final pretrial conference contemplated in Rule 16(d) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. The trial court’s ruling shall set forth the findings of fact and conclusions of law upon which the order to admit or exclude expert evidence is based.
(d) A party may depose any person who has been identified as an expert whose opinions may be presented at trial. If a report from the expert is required under subsection (b) of this section, the deposition shall not be conducted until after the report is provided.
In interpreting and applying this article, the courts of this state shall follow the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997), Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999), Weisgram v. Marley, 528 U.S. 440 (2000), and their progeny; moreover, the courts of this state may draw from other precedents binding in the federal courts of this state applying the standards announced by the Supreme Court of the United States in the foregoing cases.
(b) The amount of punitive damages that may be awarded for a claim in a civil action shall not exceed the lesser of three times compensatory damages or $100,000 where the punitive damages are recoverable from a defendant which is not a large employer.
(a) If the jury returns a verdict of punitive damages against a defendant in the case at bar and if the total amount of any prior punitive damages awards obtained by the same or other plaintiffs in any state or federal court against that defendant for the same course of conduct as alleged in the case at bar exceeds the applicable amount set forth in section two of this article then no further punitive damages may be awarded against that defendant in the case at bar.
(b) If the total amount of any prior punitive damages awards is less than the applicable amount set forth in section two of this article, then the amount of any punitive damages awarded in the case at bar shall be reduced if necessary so that the combined total amount of punitive damages awarded in the case at bar and the prior actions shall not exceed the applicable amount set forth in section two of this article.
(d) If a bifurcated proceeding is requested, evidence relevant only to the claim of punitive damages shall be inadmissible in the first stage of the trial.
(a) A principal or employer who is a natural person may be liable for punitive damages as a result of conduct of his or her agent or employee only when the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the damages suffered were the result of conduct that was carried out by the principal or employer with actual malice toward the plaintiff or with a conscious, reckless and outrageous indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of others.
(b) A principal or employer that is other than a natural person may be liable for punitive damages as a result of the conduct of its agent or employee only when the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the damages suffered were the result of conduct that was carried out by a senior manager of the principal or employer with actual malice toward the plaintiff or with conscious, reckless and outrageous indifference to the health, safety, and welfare of others.
(a) In any action for damages, the liability of each defendant for compensatory damages shall be several only and shall not be joint. Each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of compensatory damages allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to that defendant's percentage of fault and a separate judgment shall be rendered against the defendant for that amount. The fault allocated under this subsection to an immune defendant or a defendant whose liability is limited by law shall not be allocated to any other defendant.
(b) To determine the amount of judgment to be entered against each defendant, the court, with regard to each defendant, shall multiply the total amount of compensatory damages recoverable by the plaintiff by the percentage of each defendant's fault and that amount shall be the maximum recoverable against said defendant.
(d) In all actions involving fault of more than one person, unless otherwise agreed by all parties to the action, the court shall instruct the jury to answer special interrogatories or, if there is no jury, shall make findings, indicating the percentage of the total fault that is allocated to each party and nonparty pursuant to the provisions of this article. For this purpose, the court may determine that two or more persons are to be treated as a single person.
Nothing in this article may be construed as precluding a person from being held responsible for the portion of comparative fault assessed against another person who was acting as an agent or servant of such person, or if the fault of the other person is otherwise imputed or attributed to such person by statute or common law.
In any civil action, the finder of fact may assess a percentage of fault against a plaintiff who is injured as a proximate result of that plaintiff's failure to take reasonable precautionary measures that are available.
A person who is not the manufacturer of a product but is merely in the chain of its distribution, such as a seller, distributor or installer, and who did not alter, change, or modify the product in a way that created or contributed to the alleged defect, may not be assessed a percentage of comparative fault under the theory of strict product liability for accidents, injuries, or damages proximately caused, in whole or in part, by the product.
No owner, occupant, lessee or managing agent of property shall be liable for the death or injury of an independent contractor’s employees resulting from dangers of which the contractor knew or reasonably should have known.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, in all tort actions, regardless of the theory of liability under which they are commenced, the total amount of compensatory damages awarded to a plaintiff under the action shall be reduced, in accordance with section two of this article, by any collateral source payments made or to be made to the plaintiff, except insurance for which the plaintiff, spouse of the plaintiff, or parent of the plaintiff, has paid a premium, insurance that is subject to a right of subrogation, workers' compensation benefits that are subject to a right of subrogation, or insurance that has any other obligation or repayment.
(b) A plaintiff who has received or is to receive collateral source payments may introduce evidence before the court, but not at trial, of any amount which the plaintiff has paid or contributed to secure his or her right to any such collateral source payments, any recovery by the plaintiff is subject to a lien by a collateral source, that a provider of the collateral source payments has a statutory right of recovery against the plaintiff for reimbursement of the payments, or that the provider of the collateral source payments has a right of subrogation to the rights of the plaintiff. After considering the evidence of collateral source introduced by any party, the court shall make a determination as to the amount by which a plaintiff's compensatory damages will be reduced by any such collateral source payments.
§55A-10-1. Causes of action where damages were authorized upon this legislation’s effective date.
(b) The plaintiff who experienced the physical injury on which the action is based and all plaintiffs who derive their claims from or through such plaintiff may recover damages for noneconomic loss in a total amount for all such plaintiffs not to exceed the greater of $250,000 or three times economic damages to a maximum of $500,000.
§55A-11-1. Recovery of attorney’s fees by prevailing party; applicability to causes of action and parties.
(a) The prevailing party with respect to a claim may recover reasonable attorney's fees from an individual, corporation, or other legal entity if the claim is for:
(b) The prevailing party with respect to a claim may not recover reasonable attorney's fees from an individual, corporation, or other legal entity if the claim is for:
(4) An action filed in magistrate court.
§55A-11-2. Procedure for recovery of attorney’s fees.
(a) A defendant may elect to apply the provisions of this article to any civil action in which a plaintiff has asserted a claim against the defendant.
If an election is made under sections six or seven of this article, this article controls over any other law to the extent the other law requires, authorizes, prohibits, or otherwise governs the award of attorney's fees or other costs of litigation in connection with the civil action.
(a) The Supreme Court shall adopt rules to implement this chapter not later than January 1, 2013.
This chapter supersedes, invalidates, and repeals all other state laws which conflict with its provisions.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reform the civil justice system.