Senate Bill 1182 Summary

• Requires courts to award attorney fees to the prevailing party in civil actions, except where otherwise provided by law or agreed to by parties.

• For cases with money judgments, awards fees based on judgment amount with tiered percentages: 20% for contested trials on amounts ≤$25,000; 10% plus declining percentages for larger amounts; lower percentages for uncontested cases and default judgments.

• For cases without money judgments, awards 30% of reasonable actual attorney fees if trial held or 20% if trial not held, including fees for work delegated to paralegals, investigators, or law clerks.

• Allows courts to vary fee awards based on 11 enumerated factors including litigation complexity, reasonableness of claims and defenses, bad-faith conduct, and whether fees would deter similar litigants.

• Requires attorney fee motions filed within 10 days of judgment; does not apply to small claims division cases unless removed from that division.