HB 22-1272

House Bill 22-1272, which has been signed into law, changes how courts handle attorney fees in certain legal cases. Previously, defendants could receive payment for their lawyer's costs if a case against them was dismissed before going to trial. The new law says that defendants won't get these payments if the plaintiff had good reasons for bringing the case, such as testing an important legal principle or similar purposes. This affects people involved in tort actions (which are typically personal injury cases) and their lawyers. Since it's signed into law, this change is now active and courts must follow it when deciding on attorney fees.

Official Summary

Under current law, a defendant may be awarded reasonable attorney fees in tort actions if a case is dismissed on a motion of the defendant prior to trial. The act states that a defendant may not be awarded reasonable attorney fees in cases dismissed prior to trial in which the plaintiff brought non-frivolous claims in order to challenge precedent or for a similar reason. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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