S-0602.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5130

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State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Talmadge and A. Smith

Read first time 01/14/93.  Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

Clarifying conditions for granting attorneys' fees.

          AN ACT Relating to attorneys' fees; and amending RCW 4.84.250.

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

        Sec. 1.  RCW 4.84.250 and 1984 c 258 s 88 are each amended to read as follows:

          Notwithstanding any other provisions of chapter 4.84 RCW and RCW 12.20.060, in any action for damages where the amount pleaded by the ((prevailing party as hereinafter defined)) plaintiff or party seeking relief, exclusive of costs, is ((seven)) ten thousand ((five hundred)) dollars or less, there shall be taxed and allowed to the prevailing party as a part of the costs of the action a reasonable amount to be fixed by the court as attorneys' fees.  ((After July 1, 1985, the maximum amount of the pleading under this section shall be ten thousand dollars.))  If no specific amount is pleaded in the original pleading, or if a settlement offer by the plaintiff or party seeking relief is lower than the amount pleaded in the original pleading, then the lowest settlement offer by the plaintiff or party seeking relief under RCW 4.84.280 shall be considered the "amount pleaded" under this section.

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