***Not Germane***

AMENDMENT No. 7 PROPOSED TO

                             House Bill NO. 11

                             By Representative(s) Ellington

     AMEND by inserting the following after line 249 and by renumbering succeeding sections:

     SECTION 8.  In all civil actions where an entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under Section 11-1-65, no award of punitive damages shall exceed the greater of three (3) times the amount of the total compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff in an action or Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00); however, if the defendant is an individual or a business with less than fifty (50) full-time employees, an award of punitive damages shall not exceed two (2) times the amount of the plaintiff's compensatory damages or Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) or three percent (3%) of such defendant's net worth, whichever is less, unless the finder of fact and court find by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with criminal intent to cause serious physical bodily injury.  This restriction shall not be disclosed to the trier of fact, but shall be applied by the court to any punitive damages verdict.

     Nothing herein shall be construed as creating a right to an award of punitive damages or to limit the duty of the court, or the appellate courts, to scrutinize all punitive damage awards, ensure that all punitive damage awards comply with applicable procedural, evidentiary and constitutional requirements, and to order remittitur where appropriate.

     AMEND FURTHER the title by inserting the following on line 6 after the semicolon:  "TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES THAT MAY BE AWARDED;"