(1) As used in this section:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 77-38b-206

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Deceased victim: means an individual whose death is proximately caused by the criminal conduct of the defendant. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means an individual who has been convicted of, or entered into a plea disposition for, criminal conduct. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Dependent: includes :
              (9)(b)(i) a child:
                   (9)(b)(i)(A) who is younger than 18 years old; and
                   (9)(b)(i)(B) for whom a deceased victim, or a permanently impaired victim, is the adoptive or biological parent or legal guardian;
              (9)(b)(ii) an unborn child who has a parent-child relationship with a deceased victim, or a permanently impaired victim, in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform Parentage Act; or
              (9)(b)(iii) an incapacitated individual for whom a deceased victim, or a permanently impaired victim, is the adoptive or biological parent or the legal guardian. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Dependent support: means the financial obligation of an individual to provide for the routine needs of a dependent, including food, clothing, health care, safety, or shelter. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Incapacitated individual: means an individual who is incapacitated. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • incapacitation: means the individual is:
         (12)(a) mentally or physically impaired to the extent that the individual is permanently unable to gain employment and provide basic necessities, including food, clothing, health care, safety, or shelter; and
         (12)(b) reliant on a parent, legal guardian, or other relative or person to provide basic necessities for the individual. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Life expectancy: means the number of months an individual is or was expected to live considering medical records and experiential data for the individual. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Pecuniary damages: means all demonstrable economic injury, losses, and expenses regardless of whether the economic injury, losses, and expenses have yet been incurred. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • Permanently impaired victim: means an incapacitated individual whose incapacitation is proximately caused by the criminal conduct of the defendant. See Utah Code 77-38b-102
  • 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
  • Victim: includes :
              (26)(b)(i) the Utah Office for Victims of Crime if the Utah Office for Victims of Crime makes a payment to, or on behalf of, a victim under Section 63M-7-519;
              (26)(b)(ii) the estate of a deceased victim;
              (26)(b)(iii) a dependent; or
              (26)(b)(iv) a parent, spouse, intimate partner as defined in Utah Code 77-38b-102
     (1)(a) “Base combined child support obligation table” means the child support table located in Section 78B-12-303.
     (1)(b) “Gross income” means the amount of income that would be calculated for a parent for child support purposes as described in Section 78B-12-203.
     (1)(c) “Monthly income” means the amount of monthly income established for a deceased victim, or a permanently impaired victim, under Subsection (3).
(2) If a defendant owes pecuniary damages to a dependent under Section 77-38b-205, the court shall determine the entire amount of dependent support that the defendant owes a dependent in accordance with this section.
(3)

     (3)(a) For purposes of determining a defendant’s monthly obligation under Subsection (4), the court shall establish the monthly income of the deceased victim, or the permanently impaired victim, by:

          (3)(a)(i) calculating the deceased or permanently impaired victim’s monthly gross income before the victim’s death or incapacitation; and
          (3)(a)(ii) dividing the deceased or permanently impaired victim’s monthly gross income in half.
     (3)(b) If the amount calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(ii) is $3,000 or less, the court shall impute a monthly income of $3,001 to the deceased or permanently impaired victim.
     (3)(c) If the amount calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(ii) is greater than $3,000, the deceased or permanently impaired victim’s monthly income is the amount calculated under Subsection (3)(a)(ii).
(4) To calculate the amount of pecuniary damages that a defendant owes a dependent of a deceased victim for dependent support, the court shall:

     (4)(a) locate the monthly dependent support obligation in the base income child support table using:

          (4)(a)(i) the deceased victim’s monthly income established under Subsection (3)(b) or (c); and
          (4)(a)(ii) the total number of dependents for which the defendant owes dependent support; and
     (4)(b) multiply the monthly amount established under Subsection (4)(a) for the dependent by:

          (4)(b)(i) the number of months until the dependent is 18 years old and is graduated from high school if the dependent is a child; or
          (4)(b)(ii) the life expectancy of the dependent if the dependent is an incapacitated individual who is 18 years old or older.
(5) To calculate the amount of pecuniary damages that a defendant owes a dependent of a permanently impaired victim for dependent support, the court shall:

     (5)(a) locate the monthly dependent support obligation in the base income child support table using:

          (5)(a)(i) the permanently impaired victim’s monthly income established under Subsection (3)(b) or (c); and
          (5)(a)(ii) the total number of dependents for which the defendant owes dependent support;
     (5)(b) multiply the monthly amount established under Subsection (5)(a) by the permanently impaired victim’s whole person impairment rating as determined by the most recent edition of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment; and
     (5)(c) multiply the amount established under Subsection (5)(b) for the dependent by:

          (5)(c)(i) the number of months until the dependent is 18 years old and is graduated from high school if the dependent is a child who is younger than 18 years old; or
          (5)(c)(ii) the life expectancy of the dependent if the dependent is an incapacitated individual who is 18 years old or older.
(6) The deceased or permanently impaired victim’s monthly income calculated under Subsection (3) is the only income that may be used when locating the monthly dependent support obligation in the base combined child support obligation table.