In any civil action based upon tort and any action for personal injury based upon breach of warranty, except actions for wrongful death pursuant to Sections 6-5-391 and 6-5-410, the damages assessed by the factfinder shall be itemized as follows:

(1) Past damages.

(2) Future damages.

(3) Punitive damages.

The factfinder shall not reduce any future damages to present value. Where the court determines that any one or more of the above categories is not recoverable in the action, those categories shall be omitted from the itemization.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) PAST DAMAGES. Damages and losses suffered or incurred prior to the date of judgment.

(2) FUTURE DAMAGES. Damages and losses reasonably anticipated to be suffered or incurred following the date of judgment.

As used herein, the terms 'plaintiff' and 'defendant' shall include the singular and the plural.

(a) Punitive damages may not be awarded in any civil action, except civil actions for wrongful death pursuant to Sections 6-5-391 and 6-5-410, other than in a tort action where it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant consciously or deliberately engaged in oppression, fraud, wantonness, or malice with regard to the plaintiff. Nothing contained in this article is to be construed as creating any claim for punitive damages which is not now present under the law of the State of Alabama.

(b) As used in this article, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) FRAUD. An intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of a material fact the concealing party had a duty to disclose, which was gross, oppressive, or malicious and committed with the intention on the part of the defendant of thereby depriving a person or entity of property or legal rights or otherwise causing injury.

(2) MALICE. The intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse, either:

a. With an intent to injure the person or property of another person or entity, or

b. Under such circumstances that the law will imply an evil intent.

(3) WANTONNESS. Conduct which is carried on with a reckless or conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others.

(4) CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE. Evidence that, when weighed against evidence in opposition, will produce in the mind of the trier of fact a firm conviction as to each essential element of the claim and a high probability as to the correctness of the conclusion. Proof by clear and convincing evidence requires a level of proof greater than a preponderance of the evidence or the substantial weight of the evidence, but less than beyond a reasonable doubt.

(5) OPPRESSION. Subjecting a person to cruel and unjust hardship in conscious disregard of that person's rights.

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (d), and (j), in all civil actions where an entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws, no award of punitive damages shall exceed three times the compensatory damages of the party claiming punitive damages or five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), whichever is greater.

(b) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (j), in all civil actions where entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable law against a defendant who is a small business, no award of punitive damages shall exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or 10 percent of the business' net worth, whichever is greater.

(c) 'Small business' for purposes of this section means a business having a net worth of two million dollars ($2,000,000) or less at the time of the occurrence made the basis of the suit.

(d) Except as provided in subsection (j), in all civil actions for physical injury wherein entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws, no award of punitive damages shall exceed three times the compensatory damages of the party claiming punitive damages or one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000), whichever is greater.

(e) Except as provided in Section 6-11-27, no defendant shall be liable for any punitive damages unless that defendant has been expressly found by the trier of fact to have engaged in conduct, as defined in Section 6-11-20, warranting punitive damages, and such defendant shall be liable only for punitive damages commensurate with that defendant's own conduct.

(f) As to all the fixed sums for punitive damage limitations set out herein in subsections (a), (b), and (d), those sums shall be adjusted as of January 1, 2003, and as of January 1 at three-year intervals thereafter, at an annual rate in accordance with the Consumer Price Index rate.

(g) The jury may neither be instructed nor informed as to the provisions of this section.

(h) This section shall not apply to class actions.

(i) Nothing herein shall be construed as creating a right to an award of punitive damages or to limit the duty of the court, or the appellate courts, to scrutinize all punitive damage awards, ensure that all punitive damage awards comply with applicable procedural, evidentiary, and constitutional requirements, and to order remittitur where appropriate.

(j) This section shall not apply to actions for wrongful death or for intentional infliction of physical injury.

(k) 'Physical injury' for purposes of this section, means actual injury to the body of the claimant proximately caused by the act complained of and does not include physical symptoms of the mental anguish or emotional distress for which recovery is sought when such symptoms are caused by, rather than the cause of, the pain, distress, or other mental suffering.

(l) No portion of a punitive damage award shall be allocated to the state or any agency or department of the state.

Argument or mention, in the presence of the jury, of the classifications or limitations established in Section 6-11-21 is not permissible and shall be ground for a mistrial.

(a) No presumption of correctness shall apply as to the amount of punitive damages awarded by the trier of the fact.

(b) In all cases wherein a verdict for punitive damages is awarded, the trial court shall, upon motion of any party, either conduct hearings or receive additional evidence, or both, concerning the amount of punitive damages. Any relevant evidence, including but not limited to the economic impact of the verdict on the defendant or the plaintiff, the amount of compensatory damages awarded, whether or not the defendant has been guilty of the same or similar acts in the past, the nature and the extent of any effort the defendant made to remedy the wrong and the opportunity or lack of opportunity the plaintiff gave the defendant to remedy the wrong complained of shall be admissible; however, such information shall not be subject to discovery, unless otherwise discoverable, until after a verdict for punitive damages has been rendered. After such post verdict hearing the trial court shall independently (without any presumption that the award of punitive damages is correct) reassess the nature, extent, and economic impact of such an award of punitive damages, and reduce or increase the award if appropriate in light of all the evidence.

(a) On appeal, no presumption of correctness shall apply to the amount of punitive damages awarded.

(b) The appellate court shall independently reassess the nature, extent and economic impact of such an award and reduce or increase the award if appropriate in light of all the evidence.

Nothing in this article is intended to limit the ability of a trial or appellate court to set aside or reverse an award of punitive damages, or to order a new trial.

Punitive damages may not be awarded against the State of Alabama or any county or municipality thereof, or any agency thereof, except any entity covered under the Medical Liability Act now codified as Section 6-5-480 et seq., or any acts amendatory thereto.

(a) A principal, employer, or other master shall not be liable for punitive damages for intentional wrongful conduct or conduct involving malice based upon acts or omissions of an agent, employee, or servant of said principal, employer, or master unless the principal, employer, or master either: (i) knew or should have known of the unfitness of the agent, employee, or servant, and employed him or continued to employ him, or used his services without proper instruction with a disregard of the rights or safety of others; or (ii) authorized the wrongful conduct; or (iii) ratified the wrongful conduct; or unless the acts of the agent, servant or employee were calculated to or did benefit the principal, employer or other master, except where the plaintiff knowingly participated with the agent, servant, or employee to commit fraud or wrongful conduct with full knowledge of the import of his act.

(b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent recovery of punitive damages against a retail vendor of alcoholic beverages arising out of the acts of its agents, servants, or employees acting within the line and scope of their employment.

Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to grant or create a cause of action or right to recover punitive damages.

This article shall not pertain to or affect any civil actions for wrongful death pursuant to Sections 6-5-391 and 6-5-410, as amended.

Where the damages assessed against a defendant by the trier of fact include an award of future damages, the trial court shall comply with the following in rendering its judgment in the case:

(1) Judgment shall be entered against the defendant for all past damages and punitive damages assessed against the defendant by the trier of fact.

(2) If the award of future damages assessed by the trier of fact is $150,000 or less, the trial court shall enter judgment against the defendants for the amount of such future damages.

(3) If the award of future damages assessed by the trier of fact is greater than $150,000, the trial court shall enter judgment as follows:

a. Judgment shall be entered against the defendant for $150,000 of such future damage.

b. If, as part of the plaintiff's contract with his attorney, the plaintiff is obligated to pay his attorney a fee based on that portion of the award of future damages which exceeds $150,000, the court shall determine what portion of the award of future damages in excess of $150,000 is owed to the attorney under the contract and shall enter judgment for the remainder of the award of future damages in excess of $150,000 as provided in c, below. As to that portion of the award of future damages in excess of $150,000 which is owed to the plaintiff's attorney, that portion shall be reduced to present value by the court and judgment shall be entered against the defendant for the reduced amount.

c.1. For that portion of a future damage award in excess of $150,000 and in excess of the attorney's fee subject to b, judgment shall be entered requiring the defendant to pay that portion of such future damages by periodic payments over a period of years not to exceed such period of years as, according to the evidence offered during the trial of the case, such future damages may be incurred. In entering a judgment against the defendants ordering the payment of future damages by periodic payment, the trial court shall make a specific finding as to the dollar amount of periodic payments which will compensate the judgment creditor for such future damages as the same may be incurred, as determined from the evidence offered during the trial of the case. If, or to the extent that, the evidence offered at trial did not indicate the approximate time or time frame or both within which the future damages would be incurred, the trial court, for the purpose of determining the amount of periodic payments and the interval between such payments, shall conclusively presume that such damages will be incurred throughout the life expectancy of the judgment creditor on an equal periodic basis. The judgment ordering payment of future damages by periodic payments shall specify the recipient or recipients of the payments, the dollar amounts of the payments, the interval between payments, and the number of payments or period of time over which payments shall be made. The total amount of all periodic payments when added to the sum of $150,000 and when added to that portion of the future damages award, not reduced to present value, which was used to calculate the attorney's fee in paragraph b, above, shall not exceed the total amount of future damages contained in the verdict of the trier of fact.

2. As a condition to authorizing periodic payments for future damages, the court must receive adequate assurance that the defendant can and will make all required payments. Such assurance may include the requirement that the defendant either have sufficient financial ability to make all required payments, post adequate bond, or other security, give evidence that there exists an insurance company, registered in this state, which is obligated to pay the judgment, or purchase an annuity of sufficient value to pay the future damages as structured, or any accelerated payments of those damages which might be required by this article. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as limiting the authority of the trial court to order a new trial, enter a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or order a remittitur of damages. The provisions of this section shall also apply to any judgment following remittitur.

3. An award of future damages shall not be reduced to present value by the court, except as required in b above, and no interest is to be charged on said damages. Evidence of the present value of future damages is inadmissible in cases covered by this article, except at a hearing authorized by Section 6-11-5. If, however, the court determines that damages which should be structured pursuant to c above, cannot be structured due to the failure of the defendant to provide the financial assurances required in c 2 above, that portion of the future damage award shall be reduced to present value by the court prior to entry of judgment.

This article shall not affect the rights of any person if such rights accrued prior to June 11, 1987.

Where a judgment is structured pursuant to Section 6-11-3 above, the following shall apply:

(1) Should the judgment creditor die before the final installment is paid, the remaining payments shall be made to the estate of the decedent, or as otherwise directed by the court having jurisdiction over the estate.

(2) Where an installment payment is more than 15 days late, there shall be added to the amount due for that installment interest from the date payment was due at the rate of 20 percent per annum, compounded daily, and attorney's fee if necessary to collect the amount due.

(3) Upon motion of the judgment creditor, or his estate in the event of this death, the structure may be terminated and all unpaid installments declared immediately due if the court finds that the judgment debtor has exhibited a continuing pattern of failing to pay installments when due or that there is a reasonable likelihood that future payments may not be timely made. In all such cases, the court may further assess the debtor with costs and the creditor's attorney's fees relating to all proceedings conducted pursuant to this paragraph.

(4) No certificate of judgment shall issue or be recorded against any defendant for that portion of an award of future damages which is structured.

The court may conduct hearings and receive such evidence as is deemed necessary in order to make the determinations required in Section 6-11-3 and Section 6-11-4.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to alter or affect the nature, elements, form, or amount of damages recoverable in any action.

This article shall not affect the rights of any person if such rights accrued prior to June 11, 1987.