Section 1 establishes standards for the amount of an award of attorney fees when authorized under law.

Subdivision 1 provides that in setting the amount of attorney fees to be awarded, the court must take into consideration the reasonableness of the fees in relation to the amount of damages awarded to the prevailing party.

Subdivision 2 provides that if an offer of judgment is made by a party to a party who claims money damages and the party claiming attorney fees does not obtain a verdict in excess of the offer, exclusive of attorney fees, no fees may be awarded for services provided after the offer of judgment.  The party that rejects an offer must disclose the attorney fees it has incurred as of the date of service of the offer within the time period provided for acceptance of an offer.

Section 2 provides that section 1 is effective August 1, 2011, and applies to actions commenced on or after that date.

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