Public Act 100-0358

HB1685 EnrolledLRB100 03379 HEP 13384 b



 AN ACT concerning civil law.


 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 



 Section 5. The Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act is 
amended by changing Section 25 as follows:




 (740 ILCS 92/25)



 Sec. 25. Costs and proceeds of action. 

 (a) If the State's Attorney or Attorney General proceeds 
with an action
brought
by a
person under Section 15, that 
person is entitled to receive an amount that the
court 
determines is
reasonable based upon the extent to which the 
person contributed to the
prosecution of the action.
Subject to 
subsection (d), the amount awarded to the person who brought 
the
action shall not be
less than 30% of the proceeds of the 
action or settlement of the claim, and
shall be paid from the

proceeds.

 (b) If the State's Attorney or Attorney General does not 
proceed with an
action
brought
by a person under Section 15, 
that person shall receive an amount that the
court decides is

reasonable for collecting the civil penalty and damages. 
Subject to subsection
(d), the amount
shall not be less than 
40% of the proceeds of the action or settlement, and
shall be 
paid from the
proceeds.

 (c) If the person bringing the action as a result of a 
violation of this Act
has paid money
to the defendant or to an 
attorney acting on behalf of the defendant in the
underlying 
claim, then
he or she shall be entitled to up to double the 
amount paid to the defendant or
the attorney if that
amount is 
greater than 50% of the proceeds.

 (d) Where the action is one that the court finds to be 
based primarily on
disclosures of
specific information, other 
than information provided by the person bringing
the action 
under
Section 15, relating to allegations or transactions in a 
criminal, civil, or
administrative hearing, in
a legislative or 
administrative report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or

from the news media, the
court may award those sums that it 
considers appropriate, but in no case more
than 10% of the

proceeds, taking into account the significance of the 
information and the role
of the person
bringing the action in 
advancing the case to litigation.

 (e) Any payment to a person under subsection (a), (b), (c), 
or (d) shall be
made from the
proceeds. The person shall also 
receive an amount for reasonable expenses that
the court finds 
to
have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorney's 
fees and costs. All
of those expenses,
fees, and costs shall be 
awarded against the defendant.

 (f) If a local State's Attorney has proceeded with an 
action under this Act,
the Treasurer
of the County where the 
action was brought shall receive an amount for
reasonable 
expenses that
the court finds to have been necessarily incurred 
by the State's Attorney,
including reasonable
attorney's fees 
and costs, plus 50% of the funds not awarded to a private

party. Those amounts
shall be used to investigate and prosecute 
insurance fraud, augmenting existing
budgets rather
than 
replacing them. All remaining funds shall go to the State and 
be deposited
in the General
Revenue Fund and, when 
appropriated, shall be allocated to appropriate State
agencies 
for
enhanced insurance fraud investigation, prosecution, and 
prevention efforts.

 (g) If the Attorney General has proceeded with an action 
under this Act, all
funds not
awarded to a private party, shall 
go to the State and be deposited in the
General Revenue Fund

and, when appropriated, shall be allocated to appropriate State 
agencies for
enhanced insurance
fraud investigation, 
prosecution, and prevention efforts.

 (h) If neither a local State's Attorney or the Attorney 
General has
proceeded
with an
action under this Act, 50% of the 
funds not awarded to a private party shall be
deposited with 
the
Treasurer of the County where the action was brought and 
shall be disbursed to
the State's
Attorney of the County where 
the action was brought. Those funds shall be used
by the 
State's
Attorney solely to investigate, prosecute, and prevent 
crime insurance fraud,
augmenting existing
budgets rather than 
replacing them. All remaining funds shall go to the State
and 
be deposited in
the General Revenue Fund and, when 
appropriated, shall be allocated to
appropriate State
agencies 
for enhanced crime insurance fraud investigation, prosecution, 
and
prevention efforts.

 (i) Whether or not the State's Attorney or Attorney General 
proceeds with
the
action, if
the court finds that the action 
was brought by a person who planned and
initiated the violation 
of
this Act, that person shall be dismissed from the civil 
action and shall not
receive any share of
the proceeds of the 
action. The dismissal shall not prejudice the right of the

State's Attorney or
Attorney General to continue the action on 
behalf of the State.

 (j) If the State's Attorney or Attorney General does not 
proceed with the
action, and the
person bringing the action 
conducts the action, the court may award to the
defendant its

reasonable attorney's fees and expenses if the defendant 
prevails in the action
and the court finds
that the claim of 
the person bringing the action was clearly frivolous, clearly

vexatious, or
brought primarily for purposes of harassment.

(Source: P.A. 92-233, eff. 1-1-02.)