Bill Text: NY S04238 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that for settlements that require a court order, the order, or the judgment in a special proceeding, shall provide for the payment of interest on the settlement amount at the statutory interest rate on judgments.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S04238 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S04238-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4238 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 5, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- 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 and the surrogate's court procedure act, in relation to addressing delay in payment of a settlement where the settlement requires court approval The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1207 of the civil practice law and rules, as 2 amended by chapter 355 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 § 1207. Settlement of action or claim by infant, judicially declared 5 incompetent or conservatee, by whom motion made; special proceeding; 6 notice; order of settlement. (a) Upon motion of a guardian of the prop- 7 erty or guardian ad litem of an infant or, if there is no such guardian, 8 then of a parent having legal custody of an infant, or if there is no 9 such parent, by another person having legal custody, or if the infant is 10 married, by an adult spouse residing with the infant, or of the commit- 11 tee of the property of a person judicially declared to be incompetent, 12 or of the conservator of the property of a conservatee, the court may 13 order settlement of any action commenced by or on behalf of the infant, 14 incompetent or conservatee. If no action has been commenced, a special 15 proceeding may be commenced upon petition of such a representative for 16 settlement of any claim by the infant, incompetent or conservatee in any 17 court where an action for the amount of the proposed settlement could 18 have been commenced. Unless otherwise provided by rule of the chief 19 administrator of the courts, if no motion term is being held and there 20 is no justice of the supreme court available in a county where the 21 action or an action on the claim is triable, such a motion may be made, 22 or special proceeding may be commenced, in a county court and the county 23 judge shall act with the same power as a justice of the supreme court 24 even though the amount of the settlement may exceed the jurisdictional EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00925-01-9S. 4238 2 1 limits of the county court. Notice of the motion or petition shall be 2 given as directed by the court. An order on such a motion shall have the 3 effect of a judgment. Such order, or the judgment in a special proceed- 4 ing, shall be entered without costs and shall approve the fee for the 5 infant's, incompetent's or conservatee's attorney, if any. 6 (b) Such order, or the judgment in a special proceeding, shall provide 7 for the payment of interest on the settlement amount at the statutory 8 interest rate on judgments, to be computed commencing the fifteenth day, 9 or where the settling defendant is a municipal or state entity as set 10 forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of section five thousand three-a of this 11 chapter then commencing from the sixty-first day following the day that 12 the proposed settlement is entered into and continuing until the day 13 that the order or judgment is signed. Where the proposed settlement 14 includes an annuity to provide for periodic payments, interest shall not 15 be computed on the present value of the annuity provided that the 16 defendant timely funds the annuity, but interest shall accrue on any 17 periodic payment made later than the payment schedule set forth in the 18 proposed settlement. The date and terms of the proposed settlement shall 19 be set forth to all counsel or parties in writing, or in a court tran- 20 script, and a copy of the writing or transcript shall be provided to the 21 court in order to calculate the days of interest. 22 § 2. Paragraphs 7 and 8 of subdivision (a) of rule 1208 of the civil 23 practice law and rules, paragraph 7 as amended and paragraph 8 as added 24 by chapter 844 of the laws of 1968, are amended and a new paragraph 9 is 25 added to read as follows: 26 7. whether reimbursement for medical or other expenses has been 27 received from any source; [and] 28 8. whether the infant's or incompetent's representative or any member 29 of the infant's or incompetent's family has made a claim for damages 30 alleged to have been suffered as a result of the same occurrence giving 31 rise to the infant's or incompetent's claim and, if so, the amount paid 32 or to be paid in settlement of such claim or if such claim has not been 33 settled the reasons therefor[.]; and 34 9. the daily rate of interest on the settlement computed pursuant to 35 subdivision (b) of section twelve hundred seven of this article and a 36 copy of the court transcript or writing setting forth the date and terms 37 of the proposed settlement. 38 § 3. Rule 1208 of the civil practice law and rules is amended by 39 adding a new subdivision (g) to read as follows: 40 (g) Delivery of order. Upon signing the order, or judgment in a 41 special proceeding, the court shall send a copy of the order or judgment 42 to the attorney representing the infant or incompetent, or if there is 43 no attorney, to the representative of the infant or incompetent. 44 § 4. Subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) of section 5003-a of the civil 45 practice law and rules, as added by chapter 269 of the laws of 1992, are 46 amended to read as follows: 47 (a) When an action to recover damages has been settled, any settling 48 defendant, except those defendants to whom subdivisions (b) and (c) of 49 this section apply, shall pay all sums due to any settling plaintiff 50 within twenty-one days, or if it is an action which requires judicial 51 approval of settlement, within fourteen days of tender, by the settling 52 plaintiff to the settling defendant, of a duly executed release and a 53 stipulation discontinuing action executed on behalf of the settling 54 plaintiff. 55 (b) When an action to recover damages has been settled and the settl- 56 ing defendant is a municipality or any subdivision thereof, or anyS. 4238 3 1 public corporation that is not indemnified by the state, it shall pay 2 all sums due to any settling plaintiff within ninety days, or if it is 3 an action which requires judicial approval of settlement, within sixty 4 days of tender, by the settling plaintiff to it, of duly executed 5 release and a stipulation discontinuing action executed on behalf of the 6 settling plaintiff. The provisions of this [paragraph] subdivision shall 7 not inure to the benefit of any insurance carrier for a municipality or 8 any subdivision thereof, or any public corporation that is not indem- 9 nified by the state. Any such insurance carrier shall pay all sums due 10 to any settling plaintiff in accordance with the provisions of subdivi- 11 sion (a) of this section. 12 (c) When an action to recover damages has been settled and the settl- 13 ing defendant is the state, an officer or employee of the state entitled 14 to indemnification pursuant to section seventeen of the public officers 15 law, or a public benefit corporation indemnified by the state, payment 16 of all sums due to any settling plaintiff shall be made within ninety 17 days, or if it is an action which requires judicial approval of settle- 18 ment, within sixty days of the comptroller's determination that all 19 papers required to effectuate the settlement have been received by him 20 or her. The provisions of this [paragraph] subdivision shall not inure 21 to the benefit of any insurance carrier for the state, an officer or 22 employee of the state entitled to indemnification pursuant to section 23 seventeen of the public officers law, or a public benefit corporation 24 indemnified by the state. Any such insurance carrier shall pay all sums 25 due to any settling plaintiff in accordance with the provisions of 26 subdivision (a) of this section. 27 § 5. Section 2220 of the surrogate's court procedure act is amended by 28 adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows: 29 6. The order or decree shall provide for the payment of interest on 30 the settlement amount at the statutory interest rate on judgments, to be 31 computed from the fifteenth day, or where the settling defendant is a 32 municipal or state entity as set forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of 33 section five thousand three-a of the civil practice law and rules, then 34 from the sixty-first day following the day that the proposed settlement 35 is entered into and continuing until the day that the order or judgment 36 is signed. Where the proposed settlement includes an annuity to provide 37 for periodic payment, interest shall not be computed on the present 38 value of the annuity provided that the defendant timely funds the annui- 39 ty, but interest shall accrue on any periodic payment made later than 40 the payment schedule set forth in the proposed settlement. The date and 41 terms of the proposed settlement shall be set forth to all counsel or 42 parties in writing, or in a court transcript, and a copy of the writing 43 or transcript shall be provided to the court in order to calculate the 44 days of interest. 45 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 46 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall apply to all 47 actions settled on or after such effective date.
