Illinois Legislature Submits Revised And Amended Prejudgment Interest Bill

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has vetoed Illinois House Bill 3360, which sought to amend the state's judgment interest statute to add prejudgment interest on all damages rendered in personal injury and wrongful death claims at the rate of 9 percent per year. (See Holland & Knight's previous alert, "Illinois Legislature Passes Bill to Impose Prejudgment Interest on Personal Injury Claims," Jan. 28, 2021.) In vetoing the measure on March 25, 2021, the governor expressed concern about the statute's potentially adverse impact on Illinois' healthcare industry, particularly given the impact of COVID-19 on that sector of the Illinois economy.

Had the bill become law, it would have provided for the calculation of prejudgment interest to begin accruing when the tortfeasor had notice of the injury and would have had an immediate impact on cases pending in the courts of Illinois.