Bill Text: NY A01431 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the court to increase the amount of the award to a person who initiates a qui tam action where such action includes disclosure of information related to the use of government funds during a state of emergency.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Passed) 2022-12-28 - signed chap.791 [A01431 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A01431-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1431 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 11, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, GRIFFIN, ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF, ABINANTI, SEAWRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to increasing the amount of the award to a person who initiates a qui tam action where such action includes disclosure of information related to the use of government funds during a state of emergency The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 6 of section 190 of 2 the state finance law, as amended by section 9-b of part A of chapter 56 3 of the laws of 2013, are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) If the attorney general elects to convert the qui tam civil action 5 into an attorney general enforcement action, or to permit a local 6 government to convert the action into a civil enforcement action by such 7 local government, or if the attorney general or a local government 8 elects to intervene in the qui tam civil action, then the person or 9 persons who initiated the qui tam civil action collectively shall be 10 entitled to receive between fifteen and twenty-five percent of the 11 proceeds recovered in the action or in settlement of the action. The 12 court shall determine the percentage of the proceeds to which a person 13 commencing a qui tam civil action is entitled, by considering the extent 14 to which the plaintiff substantially contributed to the prosecution of 15 the action. Where the court finds that the action was based primarily on 16 disclosures of specific information (other than information provided by 17 the person bringing the action) relating to allegations or transactions 18 in a criminal, civil or administrative hearing, in a legislative or 19 administrative report, hearing, audit or investigation, or from the news 20 media, the court may award such sums as it considers appropriate, but in 21 no case more than ten percent of the proceeds, taking into account the 22 significance of the information and the role of the person or persons EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01221-01-1A. 1431 2 1 bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation. Where the court 2 finds that the action was based on disclosure of specific information 3 related to the use of government funds during a declaration of a state 4 of emergency, the court shall increase the percentage of the proceeds to 5 which the person commencing such qui tam civil action is entitled by up 6 to five percent more than the maximum percentage allowed pursuant to 7 this paragraph. Any such person shall also receive an amount for reason- 8 able expenses that the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, 9 reasonable attorneys' fees, and costs pursuant to article eighty-one of 10 the civil practice law and rules. All such expenses, fees, and costs 11 shall be awarded against the defendant. 12 (b) If the attorney general or a local government does not elect to 13 intervene or convert the action, and the action is successful, then the 14 person or persons who initiated the qui tam action which obtains 15 proceeds shall be entitled to receive between twenty-five and thirty 16 percent of the proceeds recovered in the action or settlement of the 17 action. The court shall determine the percentage of the proceeds to 18 which a person commencing a qui tam civil action is entitled, by consid- 19 ering the extent to which the plaintiff substantially contributed to the 20 prosecution of the action. Where the court finds that the action was 21 based on disclosure of specific information related to the use of 22 government funds during a declaration of a state of emergency, the court 23 shall increase the percentage of the proceeds to which the person 24 commencing such qui tam civil action is entitled by up to ten percent 25 more than the maximum percentage allowed pursuant to this paragraph. 26 Such person shall also receive an amount for reasonable expenses that 27 the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, reasonable attorneys' 28 fees, and costs pursuant to article eighty-one of the civil practice law 29 and rules. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be awarded against 30 the defendant. 31 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.