BILL NUMBER: AB 2395	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Davis

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to  amend Section 300 of the Business and
Professions Code, relating to consumer affairs.   add
Section 1033.6 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil
actions. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2395, as amended, Davis.  Consumer affairs. 
 Civil actions: pro per litigant costs.  
   Existing law provides that a prevailing party is entitled as a
matter of right to recover costs in any action or proceeding, and
specifies those items allowable as costs.  
   This bill would require, in civil proceedings in which a pro per
litigant is the prevailing party, that the court, upon motion, award
reasonable compensation to the prevailing party for the time and
effort required to litigate the matter. The bill would require the
court to base the reasonable compensation on the standard rate of
compensation for a paralegal assistant in the local market and any
economic hardship suffered by the prevailing party in litigating the
matter.  
   Existing law, the Consumer Affairs Act, provides authority to the
Director of Consumer Affairs to take specified actions to protect and
promote the interests of consumers in the state.  
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the
provision naming that act. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 1033.6 is added to the 
 Code of Civil Procedure   , to read:  
   1033.6.  (a) In any civil proceeding in which a pro per litigant
is the prevailing party, the court, upon motion, shall award
reasonable compensation to the prevailing party for the time and
effort required to litigate the matter. The reasonable compensation
award by the court pursuant to this section shall be based on both of
the following factors:
   (1) The standard rate of compensation for a paralegal assistant in
the local market.
   (2) Any economic hardship suffered by the prevailing party in
litigating the matter.
   (b) This section shall not apply to unlawful detainer actions.
 
  SECTION 1.    Section 300 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   300.  This chapter may be known, and cited, as the Consumer
Affairs Act.