Utah Code 78B-5-824. Personal injury judgments — Interest authorized
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(1) In all actions brought to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by any person, caused by the negligence or willful intent of another person, corporation, association, or partnership, and whether the injury was fatal or otherwise, the plaintiff, including a counterclaim plaintiff or a crossclaim plaintiff, in the complaint may claim interest on special damages actually incurred.
Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-5-824
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: means :(24)(a) an individual;(24)(b) an association;(24)(c) an institution;(24)(d) a corporation;(24)(e) a company;(24)(f) a trust;(24)(g) a limited liability company;(24)(h) a partnership;(24)(i) a political subdivision;(24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and(24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(2) A plaintiff, including a counterclaim plaintiff or a crossclaim plaintiff, seeking to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death may claim prejudgment interest if for cases classified as tier 1, pursuant to the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, the plaintiff tenders:(2)(a) a written settlement demand, including settlement demands under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 68; and(2)(b) the amount of the demand does not exceed 1-1/3 of the amount of the judgment eventually awarded at trial.(3) For purposes of this statute, the determining offer and counteroffer shall be the last written offer or counteroffer timely tendered by a party, provided that the offer or counteroffer is tendered at least 60 days before trial.(4) Cases classified as tier 2 or tier 3 by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure or submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with Sections 18-1-4 and 31A-22-321 are not subject to the requirements outlined in Subsection (2).(5)(5)(a) Any prejudgment interest shall be computed as simple interest. For first special damages incurred during the year of the occurrence of the act giving rise to the cause of action, any prejudgment interest shall be computed as simple interest accruing from the date on which the first date special damages were actually incurred.(5)(b) For special damages incurred in successive years, prejudgment interest shall be calculated from January 1 of each year special damages were incurred. The court shall calculate prejudgment interest using a per annum rate, which is two percentage points above the prime rate, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on the first business day in January of the calendar year in which the judgment is entered. The prejudgment interest rate applied to all cases may not be lower than 5% or higher than 10%.(6) As used in this section, “special damages actually incurred” does not include damages for future medical expenses, loss of future wages, or loss of future earning capacity.(7) This section applies to any cause of action arising on or after July 1, 2014.