House votes to tie prejudgment interest on special-damage awards to federal index

The Utah House approved first-substitute House Bill 42 on a 58-12 vote, changing how prejudgment interest on certain personal-injury special damages is calculated. Sponsor Representative James Dunigan said the measure ties the prejudgment rate to the federal court system index "plus 4%," mirroring a previous change that tied post-judgment interest to the same index.

Dunigan told members the change affects only "special damages" (medical bills and similar economic losses) and that the index would be fixed for a case at the January 1 rate of the year of occurrence, so both parties would know the rate for the entire prejudgment period. He said the bill "ties it to the federal court system index instead of a fixed rate" and that the change was negotiated as a compromise in committee.

Opponents urged caution, arguing the change treats one class of plaintiffs differently. Representative Daniel said he was concerned the House was tying a specific, relatively vulnerable group (people injured in accidents) to a floating rate while other interest provisions remained statutory, and suggested any shift to an indexed rate should be applied universally. Representative Feyre and others asked technical questions about calculation and the scope of applications; the sponsor answered that the rate is set as of January 1 of the year of occurrence and persists through the period until judgment.

Committee supporters, including Representative Hutchings, described the bill as a hard-won compromise between trial attorneys and insurers and recommended floor approval. The House passed the first substitute and the measure will be forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.

Vote tally recorded on the floor: 58 yes, 12 no.