In another little noodly bill, some Republicans want to increase the money you can take out of your neighbor’s pocket if you beat your neighbor in court. Senate Bill 111 would add expenses from private investigators to the costs that the prevailing party in a civil action may recover from the vanquished party.
Senator Jeff Monroe (R-24/Pierre) is SB 111’s lead sponsor. I suppose he and his fellow conservatives can look at this measure as an economic stimulus bill: litigants may be more likely to hire P.I.s knowing that they can get their opponents to pay for them if they win. Yay. But perhaps we should include some requirement that the investigators be certified, licensed professionals prior to the commencement of the legal action, lest we see a proliferation of plaintiffs’ brothers and sisters suddenly becoming “investigators.”
There is an epidemic of lying in civil cases that perhaps this bill can solve if it is drafted correctly. The judge should have discretion whether to award these costs.
Ror, I take it we’d need more than the addition of P.I. fees to check this rampant lying in civil cases. What language would help?