Montana Code 33-20-1407. Jurisdiction — notice
33-20-1407. Jurisdiction — notice. (1) A transferee may apply under this part for approval of a transfer of a structured settlement payment right:
Terms Used In Montana Code 33-20-1407
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Interested party: means , with respect to a structured settlement, the payee, any beneficiary irrevocably designated under the annuity contract to receive a payment after the payee's death, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, or any other party that has a continuing right or obligation under the structured settlement. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of the payment rights. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Responsible administrative authority: means , with respect to a structured settlement, any government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by the structured settlement. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Structured settlement: means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Structured settlement agreement: means the written agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Structured settlement payment right: means the right to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, when:
(a)(i) the payee is domiciled in this state; or
(ii)the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in this state;
(b)a court or responsible administrative authority in this state approved the structured settlement agreement; or
(c)the structured settlement agreement is expressly governed by the laws of this state. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Transfer: means a sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of a structured settlement payment right made by a payee for consideration. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Transfer agreement: means the agreement providing for a transfer of a structured settlement payment right. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
- Transferee: means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire a structured settlement payment right through a transfer. See Montana Code 33-20-1402
(a)in the county in which the payee resides;
(b)in the county in which the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer maintains a principal place of business; or
(c)in any court or before any responsible administrative authority that approved the structured settlement agreement.
(2)Not less than 20 days prior to a scheduled hearing on an application for approval of a transfer of a structured settlement payment right under 33-20-1404, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible administrative authority and serve on all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and the application for an authorized transfer. The notice must include the following:
(a)a copy of the transferee’s application;
(b)a copy of the transfer agreement;
(c)a copy of the disclosure statement required under 33-20-1403;
(d)a listing of each of the payee’s dependents, if any, together with the age of each dependent;
(e)notification that any interested party is entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the transferee’s application either in person or by counsel by submitting written comments to the court or responsible administrative authority or by participating in the hearing; and
(f)notification of the time and the place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application must be filed. The filing deadline may not be less than 15 days after the transferee’s notice has been served.