_______________________________________________

                                  ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 877

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Armstrong, Hargrove, Crane, Appelwick, Prince, Brough, Scott, L. Smith, Wang, Heavey, Meyers, Cooper, Wineberry and Jesernig)

Read first time 3/6/87 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to prejudgment interest; amending RCW 4.56.110; adding a new section to chapter 4.56 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 4, chapter 136, Laws of 1895 as last amended by section 1, chapter 147, Laws of 1983 and RCW 4.56.110 are each amended to read as follows:

          Interest on judgments shall accrue as follows:

          (1) Judgments founded on written contracts, providing for the payment of interest until paid at a specified rate, shall bear interest at the rate specified in the contracts:  PROVIDED, That said interest rate is set forth in the judgment.

          (2) Except as provided under RCW 19.52.010 and subsection (1) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date ((of entry)) the cause of action was filed at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date ((of entry thereof)) the cause of action was filed:  PROVIDED, That in any case where:  (a) A court is directed on review to enter judgment on a verdict or in any case where a judgment entered on a verdict is wholly or partly affirmed on review, then interest on the judgment or on that portion of the judgment affirmed shall date back to and shall accrue from the date the ((verdict was rendered)) cause of action was filed; (b) any portion of a judgment is paid to a plaintiff prior to the entry of the judgment, then prejudgment interest shall accrue on that paid portion of the judgment from the date the cause of action was filed to the date of payment; (c) any portion of a judgment is found to be future damages, then no prejudgment interest shall accrue on that portion of the judgment; (d) the judgment debtor has made a written settlement offer that is not accepted by the judgment creditor within thirty days, or prior to trial, whichever occurs first, and the settlement offer is not less than seventy-five percent of the judgment amount, then prejudgment interest after the date of service of the settlement offer shall only be calculated on that portion of the judgment which exceeds the settlement offer; (e) the cause of action is continued at the judgment creditor's request, then prejudgment interest shall not be applied during the period of the continuance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 4.56 RCW to read as follows:

          An attorney shall not receive as compensation any portion of the prejudgment interest awarded pursuant to RCW 4.56.110(2).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Section 1 of this act applies to any judgment entered after the effective date of this section.