2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 52-251c. Limitation on attorney contingency fees in personal injury, wrongful death and property damage actions.

      Sec. 52-251c. Limitation on attorney contingency fees in personal injury, wrongful death and property damage actions. (a) In any claim or civil action to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurring on or after October 1, 1987, the attorney and the claimant may provide by contract, which contract shall comply with all applicable provisions of the rules of professional conduct governing attorneys adopted by the judges of the Superior Court, that the fee for the attorney shall be paid contingent upon, and as a percentage of: (1) Damages awarded and received by the claimant; or (2) settlement amount pursuant to a settlement agreement.

      (b) In any such contingency fee arrangement such fee shall be the exclusive method for payment of the attorney by the claimant and shall not exceed an amount equal to a percentage of the damages awarded and received by the claimant or of the settlement amount received by the claimant as follows: (1) Thirty-three and one-third per cent of the first three hundred thousand dollars; (2) twenty-five per cent of the next three hundred thousand dollars; (3) twenty per cent of the next three hundred thousand dollars; (4) fifteen per cent of the next three hundred thousand dollars; and (5) ten per cent of any amount which exceeds one million two hundred thousand dollars.

      (c) For the purposes of this section, "damages awarded and received" means in a civil action in which final judgment is entered, that amount of the judgment or amended judgment entered by the court that is received by the claimant, except that in a civil action brought pursuant to section 38a-368 such amount shall be reduced by any basic reparations benefits paid to the claimant pursuant to section 38a-365; "settlement amount received" means in a claim or civil action in which no final judgment is entered, the amount received by the claimant pursuant to a settlement agreement, except that in a claim or civil action brought pursuant to section 38a-368 such amount shall be reduced by any basic reparations benefits paid to the claimant pursuant to section 38a-365; and "fee" shall not include disbursements or costs incurred in connection with the prosecution or settlement of the claim or civil action, other than ordinary office overhead and expense.

      (d) For the purposes of this section, "medical malpractice claim or civil action" means a claim or civil action brought to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death, whether in tort or in contract, in which it is alleged that such injury or death resulted from the negligence of a health care provider, and "health care provider" means a provider, as defined in subsection (b) of section 20-7b, or an institution, as defined in section 19a-490.

      (P.A. 86-338, S. 1; P.A. 87-227, S. 1; P.A. 91-380, S. 1; P.A. 04-257, S. 131.)

      History: P.A. 87-227 amended Subsec. (a) to change the applicability of the section from "In any claim or civil action accruing on or after October 1, 1986, seeking damages as compensation for personal injury or wrongful death" to "In any claim or civil action to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurring on or after October 1, 1987", to require the contract to comply with applicable provisions of the rules of professional conduct and to replace "damages awarded pursuant to a determination by the trier of fact" with "damages awarded and received by the claimant" and "amounts pursuant to a settlement agreement" with "settlement amount pursuant to a settlement agreement", amended Subsec. (b) to replace "percentage of the award or settlement amount" with "percentage of the damages awarded and received by the claimant or of the settlement amount received by the claimant", and added Subsec. (c) to define "damages awarded and received", "settlement amount received" and "fee"; P.A. 91-380 amended Subsec. (c) by revising the definitions of "damages awarded and received" and "settlement amount received" to provide that the amount received by a claimant in a claim or civil action brought pursuant to Sec. 38a-368 shall be reduced by any basic reparations benefits paid to the claimant pursuant to Sec. 38a-365; P.A. 04-257 attempted to make changes to provisions added by vetoed P.A. 04-155 and therefore such changes were void and not given effect, and added Subsec. (d) defining "medical malpractice claim or civil action" and "health care provider", effective June 14, 2004.

      P.A. 86-338 cited. 214 C. 1, 6, 7. Cited. 223 C. 786, 824. Cited. Id., 484, 489. Cited. Id., 786, 788, 789, 822, 824, 829- 832. Cited. 231 C. 77, 78. Cited. 235 C. 107, 120. Plaintiff's failure to comply with section does not preclude him from recovering under doctrines of quantum meruit or unjust enrichment, regardless of whether bad faith by the successor attorney or client's waiver of section has been established. 255 C. 390.

      Cited. 28 CA 693, 705. Cited. 43 CA 184. Cited. 45 CA 237. Section intended to regulate the attorney-client relationship in order to protect plaintiffs from excessive legal fees, and defendant insurer may assert section as a special defense in action by an attorney for interference with a contractual relation. 48 CA 699.

      Benefits of section can be waived. 42 CS 526, 528, 530-534.

      Subsec. (a):

      Cited. 43 CA 184. Cited. 45 CA 237.

      Subsec. (b):

      Cited. 223 C. 786, 792, 830.

      Cited. 42 CS 526, 527.