Change provisions relating to attorney’s fees in insurance cases
Summary
LB482 amends Nebraska insurance law governing attorney’s fees in certain lawsuits against insurers and related entities. The bill revises section 44-359 of the Revised Statutes of Nebraska to clarify and harmonize when a court may award a reasonable attorney’s fee to a prevailing plaintiff in an action on an insurance policy or fraternal benefit certificate. It preserves the general rule that, when a beneficiary or other entitled person obtains judgment against an insurer, the court may award attorney’s fees at both the trial and appellate levels.
The bill also retains the existing limitation that a plaintiff does not recover attorney’s fees if the judgment obtained is not more favorable than an offer made under the applicable settlement-offer statute. In addition, it keeps the exclusion for claims brought on a post-loss assignment of rights or benefits arising from a property damage claim. LB482 repeals the original section it replaces, making the revised language the operative statute.
Impact
LB482 would have affected Nebraska’s insurance litigation framework by refining the statutory rules for fee-shifting in disputes involving insurance policies and fraternal benefit societies. Its practical effect would be on insureds, beneficiaries, assignees, insurers, and the courts handling these cases, especially in determining when attorney’s fees may be taxed as costs and when they are barred by settlement-offer rules or assignment-based claims. The bill is a statutory cleanup and clarification measure rather than a broad policy change.
Sentiment
Based on the available record, there is no committee transcript or recorded vote showing active debate or divided sentiment on LB482. The bill ultimately was indefinitely postponed, which indicates it did not advance, but the record provided does not show whether that outcome reflected opposition, procedural priorities, or a lack of support. Overall, the available materials suggest a technical insurance-law bill with no documented public controversy in the excerpts provided.
Contention
The main substantive issue in LB482 is the scope of attorney’s fee recovery in insurance cases. The bill preserves the existing rule favoring fee awards for successful plaintiffs while also preserving two limits: no fee recovery when the plaintiff does not beat a qualifying settlement offer, and no application of the fee provision to post-loss assignments of property-damage claims. Those limitations are the most likely points of contention, because they affect insureds and assignees seeking recovery as well as insurers seeking to limit litigation costs. However, no specific objections or supporters are identified in the supplied discussion record.