05 LC 14
9020
House
Bill 239
By:
Representatives Fleming of the
117th,
Keen of the
179th,
Burkhalter of the
50th,
Parrish of the
156th,
Cooper of the
41st,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil
practice, so as to provide for the manner of making certain settlement offers in
certain civil actions; to provide that a party rejecting a settlement offer may
be liable for litigation costs where a judgment is significantly less favorable
to the rejecting party than was the settlement offer; to provide for practice
and procedure; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date and
applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practice, is
amended by adding after Code Section 9-15-15 a new Code Section 9-15-16 to read
as follows:
"9-15-16.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Claim' means a request, including a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party
claim, to recover monetary damages.
(2)
'Claimant' means a person making a claim.
(3)
'Defendant' means a person from whom a claimant seeks recovery on a claim,
including a counterclaim defendant, cross-defendant, or third-party
defendant.
(4)
'Governmental unit' means the state, a unit of state government, or a political
subdivision of this state.
(5)
'Litigation costs' means money actually spent and obligations actually incurred
that are directly related to the case in which a settlement offer is made. The
term includes:
(A)
Court costs;
(B)
Reasonable fees for not more than two testifying expert witnesses;
and
(C)
Reasonable
attorneýs
fees.
(6)
'Settlement offer' means an offer to settle or compromise a claim made in
compliance with this Code section.
(b)
The settlement procedures provided in this Code section apply only to claims for
monetary relief.
(c)
This Code section does not apply to:
(1)
An action by or against a governmental unit;
(2)
A domestic relations action;
(3)
An action to collect
workerś
compensation benefits; or
(4)
An action filed in a magistrate court.
(d)
This Code section does not limit or affect the ability of any person
to:
(1)
Make an offer to settle or compromise a claim that does not comply with this
Code section; or
(2)
Offer to settle or compromise a claim to which this Code section does not
apply.
(e)
An offer to settle or compromise that is not made under this Code section or an
offer to settle or compromise made in an action to which this Code section does
not apply does not entitle the offering party to recover litigation costs under
this Code section.
(f)
A settlement offer under this Code section must:
(1)
Be in writing and identify the party or parties making the offer and the party
or parties to whom the offer is being made;
(2)
State that it is made under this Code section;
(3)
State the terms by which the claims may be settled;
(4)
State the deadline by which the settlement offer must be accepted;
and
(5)
Be served on all parties to whom the settlement offer is made.
(g)
If a settlement offer is made and rejected and the judgment rendered is
significantly less favorable to the rejecting party than was the settlement
offer, the offering party shall recover litigation costs from the rejecting
party, and such recovery shall be made a part of the main judgment in the
action.
(h)
A judgment will be significantly less favorable to the rejecting party
if:
(1)
The rejecting party is a claimant and the judgment is less than 80 percent of
the rejected offer; or
(2)
The rejecting party is a defendant and the judgment is more than 120 percent of
the rejected offer.
(i)
The litigation costs that may be recovered by the offering party under this Code
section are limited to those litigation costs incurred by the offering party
after the date the rejecting party rejected the settlement
offer."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective July 1, 2005, and shall apply with respect to actions
pending on that date as well as actions filed on or after that
date.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.