§ 52-225d — Payment of damages in lump sum and periodic installments in personal injury, wrongful death and property damage actions.

Connecticut § 52-225d

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 52: Civil Actions
• Ch. 900: Court Practice and Procedure

Text

(a) In any civil action wherein the claimant seeks to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurring on or after October 1, 1987, and wherein liability is admitted or determined by the trier of fact, the court shall proceed to enter judgment as follows: (1) The trier of fact shall make separate findings for each claimant specifying the amount of any economic damages and noneconomic damages, as defined in subsection (a) of section 52-572h. (2) The court shall take into account any applicable findings made by the court or jury and shall specify for each claimant the amount of recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages, as defined in subsection (a) of section 52-572h. (3) The court shall enter judgment in a lump sum for all such recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages up to an aggregate of two hundred thousand dollars. If the amount of such damages remaining is in excess of two hundred thousand dollars, the court shall provide the parties sixty days to negotiate and consent to an agreement to be incorporated into an amended judgment to provide for the payment of all such damages remaining in excess of two hundred thousand dollars in a lump sum or in periodic installment payments or in any combination thereof without regard to the provisions of this section. (b) (1) If the parties agree on the terms of payment pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section, with respect to recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages in excess of two hundred thousand dollars, the court shall, subject to a determination by the court that the terms of subsection (e) of this section have been satisfied, enter an amended judgment incorporating such agreement of the parties into the amended judgment. (2) If the parties fail to agree on the terms of payment pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section, with respect to the payment of damages in excess of two hundred thousand dollars, the court shall enter an amended judgment to provide for the payment of such damages in a lump sum. (c) If an amended judgment for periodic installment payments is entered pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, that portion of the contingency fee or any other payment arranged between the claimant and the attorney for professional services relating to recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages subject to periodic installment payments as required under such amended judgment shall be payable in periodic installment payments in accordance with an order to be entered by the court simultaneously with but separate and apart from the amended judgment, unless prior to the entry of that order the claimant and such attorney have otherwise agreed and so informed the court. (d) The time within which any party aggrieved by a judgment of the court made under this section may appeal shall run from the issuance of notice of the rendition of the later-filed of the judgment or amended judgment prescribed by subsection (a) of this section or the amended judgment prescribed by subsection (b) of this section. (e) The court shall require any party liable for the payment of damages in periodic installment payments to demonstrate to the court its ability to make such periodic installment payments and, if appropriate, at the discretion of the court, require such party to post and maintain security adequate to assure full payment of such party's portion of the unpaid damages. (f) If the court enters judgment for periodic installment payments pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section and a claimant dies before the end of the period during which such periodic installment payments are to be made, the obligation of the defendant or defendants to make such periodic installment payments shall not cease until the remaining financial obligation of the defendant or defendants has, in accordance with an order of a court having jurisdiction in the matter, been paid into the estate of the claimant in periodic installment payments or distributed to the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the estate as such court may direct and such distribution shall be binding as to any party making periodic installment payments hereunder. (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the right of a claimant, defendant or defendants and insurers to settle claims as they consider appropriate and in their complete discretion at any time. (h) Following the fulfillment of all obligations specified in the judgment for periodic installment payments, any obligation of the defendant or any other person to make further payments pursuant to this section shall cease.

Legislative History

(P.A. 86-338, S. 2; P.A. 87-227, S. 2; P.A. 05-288, S. 176.) History: P.A. 87-227 substantially revised and rewrote section including, inter alia, deleting definitions of future economic damages, past economic damages, future noneconomic damages and past noneconomic damages, changing applicability of section from “any civil action, accruing on or after October 1, 1986, whether in tort or in contract, wherein the claimant seeks to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death” to “any civil action wherein the claimant seeks to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurring on or after October 1, 1987,” replacing provisions that required the trier of fact to specify past economic damages, future economic damages, past noneconomic damages and future economic damages and the court to apply applicable rules of law to such findings in calculating respective amounts of damages for each claimant to recover and each defendant to pay with provisions requiring the trier of fact to specify economic damages and noneconomic damages, as defined in Sec. 52-572h(a) and the court to take into account applicable findings and specify for each claimant the amount of recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages, as defined in Sec. 52-572h(a), replacing provisions that required the court to enter judgment in a lump sum for all past economic and past noneconomic damages and for all future economic and future noneconomic damages up to $200,000 with provisions requiring a lump sum payment for all recoverable economic damages and recoverable noneconomic damages up to $200,000, replacing provisions that if the parties fail to agree on the payment of future economic and noneconomic damages in excess of $200,000 the court shall enter judgment for periodic installment payments with provisions that if the parties fail to agree on the payment of recoverable economic and recoverable noneconomic damages in excess of $200,000 the court shall enter an amended judgment to provide for a lump sum payment, deleting provisions concerning the amount and duration of periodic installment payments and prohibiting their modification, deleting provisions re payment of attorney's fees related to past economic and noneconomic damages and revising provisions re payment of attorney's fees related to damages subject to periodic installment payments, adding provisions re time period for appeal, making requirement of posting and maintaining security for unpaid damages discretionary with the court and revising provisions re the obligation of a defendant to make periodic installment payments upon the death of the claimant; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) and (c), effective July 13, 2005. Cited. 212 C. 217; 214 C. 1; 216 C. 605; 217 C. 1; 221 C. 473; 231 C. 77. Statute does not preclude listing of subcategories of classes of damages it specifies and does not take away court's common-law power to require jury to render a special verdict where plaintiff requests such a verdict. 64 CA 160. Subsec. (a): Subdiv. (1): Relationship between awards of economic and noneconomic damages discussed; judgment of Appellate Court in 35 CA 301 reversed. 235 C. 107.