The bill amends Section 9-21-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 9-21, which pertains to the calculation of interest in civil actions. It establishes that in any civil action resulting in a verdict for pecuniary damages, the interest added to the damages will be calculated at a rate equal to the coupon issue yield equivalent, as determined by the United States Secretary of the Treasury, based on the average accepted auction price for the last auction of fifty-two-week U.S. Treasury bills settled immediately preceding the date of filing of the action. This replaces the previous fixed rate of twelve percent per annum and changes the starting point for interest calculation from the date the cause of action accrued to the date of filing the civil action.

The bill also specifies that post-judgment interest shall be calculated at the same rate as the prejudgment interest. Additionally, the bill removes the previous exemption for medical malpractice actions from the general interest calculation, which had specified a twelve percent per annum interest rate from the date of written notice of the claim or the filing of the civil action, whichever occurred first. The act is set to take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
1014: 9-21-10