Relative to limitation on amount of attorney's contingency fees.

SA 2927. Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) submitted an
amendment to be proposed to amendment SA 2786 proposed by Mr. Reid (for
himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Harkin) to the bill H.R. 3590,
to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time
homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and
certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. _. LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF ATTORNEY'S CONTINGENCY FEES.

(a) In General.--An attorney who represents, on a
contingency fee basis, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice
liability action may not charge, demand, receive, or collect
for services rendered in connection with such action
(including the resolution of the claim that is the subject of
the action under any alternative dispute resolution system)
in excess of--
(1) 33\1/3\ percent of the first $150,000 of the total
amount recovered by judgment or settlement in such action;
plus
(2) 25 percent of any amount recovered in excess of the
first $150,000 recovered by such judgment or settlement,

unless otherwise determined under State law. Such amount
shall be computed after deductions are made for all the
expenses associated with the claim other than those
attributable to the normal operating expenses of the
attorney.
(b) Calculation of Periodic Payments.--In the event that a
judgment or settlement includes periodic or future payments
of damages, the amount recovered for purposes of calculating
the limitation on the contingency fee under subsection (a)
may, in the discretion of the court, be based on the cost of
the annuity or trust established to make the payments. In any
case in which an annuity or trust is not established to make
such payments, such amount shall be based on the present
value of the payments.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Contingency fee.--The term ``contingency fee'' means
any fee for professional legal services which is, in whole or
in part, contingent upon the recovery of any amount of
damages, whether through judgment or settlement.
(2) Health care professional.--The term ``health care
professional'' means any individual who provides health care
services in a State and who is required by the laws or
regulations of the State to be licensed or certified by the
State to provide such services in the State.
(3) Health care provider.--The term ``health care
provider'' means any organization or institution that is
engaged in the delivery of health care services in a State
and that is required by the laws or regulations of the State
to be licensed or certified by the State to engage in the
delivery of such services in the State.
(4) Medical malpractice liability action.--The term
``medical malpractice liability action'' means a cause of
action brought in State or Federal court against a health
care provider or health care professional by which the
plaintiff alleges a medical malpractice claim.
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