SPONSOR:

Sen. Ennis

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO

SENATE BILL NO. 60

AMEND Senate Bill 60, by deleting line 13 and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“conspired with the attorney. Any person who was a victim of the intentional fraud or criminal misconduct of the attorney shall not be required to prove the existence of distinct damages caused by the intentional fraud or criminal misconduct in order to maintain a cause of action under this section, as the intentional fraud or criminal misconduct shall be deemed an independent, actionable tortious wrong, in and of itself, which shall be deemed to support at least an award of nominal damages. The cause of action may be filed and maintained without regard to”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 60, by deleting lines 18 through 21, and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“(b) In any civil action in which an award of damages is made under this section, in addition to the recovery for any loss, damages, or injury suffered, the person who was the victim, or the injured person or party, shall recover as damages: i) the reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the civil action, itself, ii) any attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the underlying civil action in which the intentional fraud or criminal misconduct occurred, and any attorney’s fees and costs incurred in any other civil action or proceeding to recover any judgment rendered in the underlying civil action, unless the civil actions or proceedings were handled on a pro bono basis, in which case the Court shall determine the reasonable attorney’s fees to be awarded, iii) prejudgment and post-judgment interest, and iv) punitive damages,

(c) No civil action under this section shall be brought after the expiration of 6 years”.

SYNOPSIS

The first paragraph of this amendment is intended to clarify that the person, who was the victim of the intentional fraud or criminal misconduct of the attorney, shall have a cause of action without having to prove the existence of distinct damages, as the intentional fraud and criminal misconduct shall be deemed actionable wrongs, in and of themselves and shall support an award of at least nominal damages. The second paragraph of this amendment makes the language in paragraph (b) more consistent with the language employed in lines 4 to 10 of the bill, deletes an unnecessary phrase on line 21 of the bill, clarifies the language of the bill in several respects, and provides direction on the damages that shall be awarded in an action under this section.

Author: Senator Ennis