21-3A-2. Action for bodily injury--Effective election--Objection to election--Time requirements--Action not tried under chapter--Withdrawal of election. In order to invoke this chapter, a party to an action for bodily injury shall make an effective election in accordance with this section within one hundred twenty days after service of the complaint.
The election shall be made in accordance with rules of court. Any objection to the election shall be made in accordance with rules of court within thirty days after the election has been made.
An election is effective if:
(1) All parties have consented;
(2) No timely objection is filed by any party; or
(3) A timely objection is filed; but
(a) The electing party is a claimant and shows there is a good faith claim that future damages will exceed two hundred thousand dollars; or
(b) The electing party is a party responding to a claim for future damages in excess of two hundred thousand dollars and shows that security in the amount of the claim for past and future damages or five hundred thousand dollars, whichever is less, can be provided under this chapter.
If an objecting party shows that the purposes of this chapter would not be served by conducting the trial of the claim affecting him under this chapter, the court may determine not to try the claim under this chapter even though the conditions of subsection (a) or (b) of subdivision (3) of this section are satisfied. Such determination shall be made in accordance with rules of court.
If an effective election is on file at the commencement of trial, all actions, including third-party claims, counterclaims and actions consolidated for trial, shall be tried under this chapter unless the court finds that the purposes of this chapter would not be served by doing so or in the interest of justice a separate trial or proceeding should be held on some or all of the claims that are not the subject of the election.
An effective election can be withdrawn only by consent of all parties to the claim to which the election relates.
Source: SL 1986, ch 163, § 2; SL 1988, ch 181, § 2.
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