Rep. Daniel Biss
Filed: 3/20/2012
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5198
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| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5198 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| 4 | "Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | adding Section 5-126.3 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (735 ILCS 5/5-126.3 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 5-126.3. Defendant's attorney's fees in an action on a | ||||||
| 8 | contract. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) If a contract allows for the recovery of attorney's | ||||||
| 10 | fees in an action brought to enforce a contract, the court may | ||||||
| 11 | also allow reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the | ||||||
| 12 | defendant under this Section, if the defendant requests | ||||||
| 13 | attorney's fees and costs in the defendant's initial responsive | ||||||
| 14 | pleading and (i) the court finds in the defendant's favor on a | ||||||
| 15 | motion, an affirmative defense or counterclaim, or in the | ||||||
| 16 | underlying action, or (ii) if the plaintiff dismisses the | ||||||
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| 1 | action within 72 hours before trial. | ||||||
| 2 | (b) This Section shall not apply if the plaintiff does not | ||||||
| 3 | request attorney's fees in the complaint or if each party to | ||||||
| 4 | the contract was represented by counsel in the negotiation and | ||||||
| 5 | execution of the contract. | ||||||
| 6 | (c) For the purposes of this Section, attorney's fees for | ||||||
| 7 | any party shall be limited to the greater of $1,250 or 25% of | ||||||
| 8 | the amount in controversy, but in no event shall the attorney's | ||||||
| 9 | fees exceed 25% of the maximum amount of a judgment allowable | ||||||
| 10 | for a small claim under the Illinois Supreme Court Rules. | ||||||
| 11 | (d) This Section applies only to actions filed on or after | ||||||
| 12 | January 1, 2013.".
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