Bill Text: NY S04589 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to offers to compromise the computation of interest in personal injury actions and the rate of interest.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S04589 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-S04589-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4589
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 13, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. BONACIC -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
istration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to offers
to compromise the computation of interest in personal injury actions
and the rate of interest
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Rule 3221 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to
2 read as follows:
3 Rule 3221. Offer to compromise. Except in a matrimonial action, at any
4 time not later than ten days before trial, any party against whom a
5 claim is asserted, and against whom a separate judgment may be taken,
6 may serve upon the claimant a written offer to allow judgment to be
7 taken against [him] THAT PARTY for a sum or property or to the effect
8 therein specified, with costs then accrued. If within ten days thereaft-
9 er the claimant serves a written notice [that he accepts] ACCEPTING the
10 offer, either party may file the summons, complaint and offer, with
11 proof of acceptance, and thereupon the clerk shall enter judgment
12 accordingly. If the offer is not accepted and the claimant fails to
13 obtain a more favorable judgment, [he] THE CLAIMANT shall not recover
14 costs OR INTEREST from the time of the offer, but shall pay costs from
15 that time. An offer of judgment shall not be made known to the jury.
16 S 2. Subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 5001 of the civil practice
17 law and rules are amended to read as follows:
18 (a) Actions in which recoverable. 1. Interest TO VERDICT, REPORT OR
19 DECISION shall be recovered upon a sum awarded [because of a breach of
20 performance of a] IN AN ACTION BASED ON PERSONAL INJURY, contract, or
21 [because of] an act or omission depriving or otherwise interfering with
22 title to, or possession or enjoyment of, property[, except that].
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09304-01-1
S. 4589 2
1 2. INTEREST MAY BE AWARDED IN THE COURT'S DISCRETION in an action of
2 an equitable nature[, interest and the] AT A rate [and date from which
3 it shall be] computed [shall be] in the court's discretion.
4 (b) Date from which computed; TYPE OF DAMAGE ON WHICH COMPUTED.
5 Interest RECOVERABLE IN THE ACTIONS SPECIFIED IN SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS
6 SECTION SHALL BE COMPUTED AS FOLLOWS:
7 1. IN AN ACTION FOR PERSONAL INJURY, INTEREST ON THE SUM AWARDED SHALL
8 BE COMPUTED FROM A DATE ONE YEAR AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH THE ACTION WAS
9 COMMENCED, BUT SHALL BE BASED EXCLUSIVELY ON SPECIAL AND GENERAL DAMAGES
10 INCURRED TO THE DATE OF SUCH VERDICT, REPORT OR DECISION;
11 2. IN AN ACTION BASED UPON CONTRACT, OR AN ACT OR OMISSION DEPRIVING
12 OR OTHERWISE INTERFERING WITH TITLE TO, OR POSSESSION OR ENJOYMENT OF,
13 PROPERTY, INTEREST shall be computed from the earliest ascertainable
14 date the cause of action existed, except that interest upon damages
15 incurred thereafter shall be computed from the date incurred. Where such
16 damages were incurred at various times, interest shall be computed upon
17 each item from the date it was incurred or upon all of the damages from
18 a single reasonable intermediate date; AND
19 3. IN AN ACTION OF AN EQUITABLE NATURE, INTEREST SHALL BE COMPUTED
20 FROM A DATE FIXED IN THE COURT'S DISCRETION.
21 S 3. Section 5004 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
22 chapter 258 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
23 S 5004. Rate of interest. [Interest shall be at the rate of nine per
24 centum per annum, except where otherwise provided by statute] NOTWITH-
25 STANDING ANY STATUTE OR OTHER LAW THAT MAY PROVIDE A DIFFERENT RATE FOR
26 ANY PARTICULAR MUNICIPAL OR NON-MUNICIPAL ENTITY, INTEREST SHALL BE AT
27 THE ONE-YEAR UNITED STATES TREASURY BILL RATE PLUS THREE PER CENTUM. FOR
28 THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE "ONE-YEAR UNITED STATES TREASURY BILL
29 RATE" MEANS THE WEEKLY AVERAGE ONE-YEAR CONSTANT MATURITY TREASURY
30 YIELD, AS PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE
31 SYSTEM, FOR THE CALENDAR WEEK PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE JUDGMENT.
32 S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
33 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, except that:
34 a. section one of this act shall apply only to actions in which the
35 offer to compromise was made on or after such effective date, and
36 b. section two of this act shall apply only to actions commenced on or
37 after such effective date.
