Bill Text: NY A10461 | 2019-2020 | 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 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - reported referred to ways and means [A10461 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10461-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10461

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 18, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Dinowitz) --
          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
    23  bringing the action in advancing the case to litigation. Where the court
    24  finds  that  the  action was based on disclosure of specific information
    25  related to the use of government funds during a declaration of  a  state
    26  of emergency, the court shall increase the percentage of the proceeds to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16306-04-0

        A. 10461                            2

     1  which  the person commencing such qui tam civil action is entitled by up
     2  to five percent more than the maximum  percentage  allowed  pursuant  to
     3  this paragraph. Any such person shall also receive an amount for reason-
     4  able  expenses  that  the court finds to have been necessarily incurred,
     5  reasonable attorneys' fees, and costs pursuant to article eighty-one  of
     6  the  civil  practice  law  and rules. All such expenses, fees, and costs
     7  shall be awarded against the defendant.
     8    (b) If the attorney general or a local government does  not  elect  to
     9  intervene  or convert the action, and the action is successful, then the
    10  person or persons  who  initiated  the  qui  tam  action  which  obtains
    11  proceeds  shall  be  entitled  to receive between twenty-five and thirty
    12  percent of the proceeds recovered in the action  or  settlement  of  the
    13  action.  The  court  shall  determine  the percentage of the proceeds to
    14  which a person commencing a qui tam civil action is entitled, by consid-
    15  ering the extent to which the plaintiff substantially contributed to the
    16  prosecution of the action. Where the court finds  that  the  action  was
    17  based  on  disclosure  of  specific  information  related  to the use of
    18  government funds during a declaration of a state of emergency, the court
    19  shall increase the percentage  of  the  proceeds  to  which  the  person
    20  commencing  such  qui  tam civil action is entitled by up to ten percent
    21  more than the maximum percentage allowed  pursuant  to  this  paragraph.
    22  Such  person  shall  also receive an amount for reasonable expenses that
    23  the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, reasonable attorneys'
    24  fees, and costs pursuant to article eighty-one of the civil practice law
    25  and rules. All such expenses, fees, and costs shall be  awarded  against
    26  the defendant.
    27    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
feedback