A.  There shall be no liability on the part of and no action for damages against:

(1)  Any member of the board, or its agents or employees, or any member of an examining committee of speech-language pathologists or audiologists appointed or designated by the board, for any action undertaken or performed by such person within the scope of the duties, powers, and functions of the board or such examining committee as provided for in this Chapter when such person is acting without malice and in the reasonable belief that the action taken by him is warranted.

(2)  Any person, committee, association, organization, firm, or corporation providing information to the board, its agents or employees, or to an examining committee of speech-language pathologists or audiologists appointed or designated by the board, whether a witness or otherwise.  Such a person, committee, association, organization, firm, or corporation providing such information without malice and in the reasonable belief that such information is accurate shall not be held, by reason of having provided such information, to be liable in damages under any law of the state or any political subdivision thereof.

B.  In any suit brought against the board, its employees or agents, any member of an examining committee appointed by the board, or any person or entity providing information to the board, when any such defendant substantially prevails in such suit, the court shall, at the conclusion of the action, award to any such substantially prevailing party defendant against any such claimant the cost of the suit attributable to such claim, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, if the claim was frivolous, unreasonable, without foundation, or in bad faith.

C.  For the purposes of this Section, a defendant shall not be considered to have substantially prevailed when the claimant obtains an award for damages or permanent injunctive or declaratory relief.

Acts 1995, No. 892, §2.