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ASSEMBLY BILL 490 (NOLAN � 1982)

CHAPTER 415, STATUTES OF 1982

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As enacted Assembly Bill 490 added Business and Professions Code section 6147, and amended the heading of Article 8.5 of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code to read: “Article 8.5: Contingency Fee Agreements.” (See Exhibits #1a through #1f) Assembly member Patrick Nolan carried Assembly Bill 490, pertaining to attorneys’ fees, on behalf of the Association for California Tort Reform. (See Exhibits #4, document AP-1; #7; and #15, document PE-1)

Assembly Bill 490 was assigned to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary where policy issues raised by the bill were considered. (See Exhibits #3 and #7) The measure was amended by the Assembly on January 11 and 25, 1982 and by the Senate on March 22 and June 11, 1982. (See Exhibits #1b through #1e and #2) Subsequent to legislative approval, Assembly Bill 490 was approved by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., on July 7, 1982 and enacted on July 8, 1982 as Chapter 415 of the Statutes of 1982. (See Exhibits #1f and #2)

As last amended on June 11, 1982 Assembly Bill 490 was summarized in the Senate Republican Caucus analysis as follows:

This bill requires an attorney who contracts to represent a plaintiff on a contingency basis to provide the client with a copy of the contract and to include in the contract certain disclosure

statements. Failure to comply with these provisions would render the fee agreement voidable at the option of the client. (See Comments for details.)

(See Exhibit #11, page 1)