Oklahoma § 57-566.1 - Payments and distributions from damage awards

§ 57-566.1. Payments and distributions from damage awards

A. Any inmate as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection B of

Section 566 of this title who successfully obtains a final court

order or settlement agreement awarding damages for any cause of

action in any federal or state proceedings against the state, a

state agency, the Department or any political subdivision, or any

employee thereof, shall pay or satisfy from the award:

1. Any previous assessments of court costs or fines involving

the criminal convictions of the offender;

2. Victims compensation assessments;

3. Restitution awards;

4. Probation or parole fees;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories

5. Child support or alimony;

6. Civil judgments; and

7. Any deficiencies of debts not paid of which the state or the

Department of Corrections has notice by judgment, lien, garnishment,

or other appropriate process.

B. After disbursement of the funds by the state or the

Department of Corrections, twenty percent (20%) of the award shall

be placed in the offender’s mandatory savings account and the

remainder shall be placed in the offender’s regular draw account.

The Department shall give notice to the inmate of known debts owed

by the inmate. The Department shall be granted a reasonable time to

review and discover all outstanding debts of the inmate as

enumerated in subsection A of this section and shall disburse the

award to all outstanding debtors of the inmate within six (6) months

of the final court order or settlement agreement. The Department

shall deposit the remaining funds pursuant to subsection C of this

section. All of the amounts and any funds deposited with the

Department of Corrections or a political subdivision in accordance

with this section shall not be subject to the attachment and

garnishment procedures set forth in Title 12 of the Oklahoma

Statutes until ninety (90) days after all outstanding debts are paid

pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, the

statutory limits on the collection of debts set out in subsection A

of Section 95 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not apply.

C. Any inmate, as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection B of

Section 566 of this title, or attorney of the inmate, who

successfully obtains a final court order awarding damages for any

cause of action arising in tort or contract, in any state or federal

proceedings, or any settlement agreement, against any party shall

notify the Department of Corrections or appropriate political

subdivision of the award and shall make the same distribution of the

award as is provided in subsection A of this section. It shall be

the duty of the attorney of the inmate or the inmate, if acting pro

se, to notify the defendant that any settlement shall be deposited

with the Department or political subdivision for disbursement in

accordance with this section. In addition, the state, the

Department of Corrections, any other state agency, or any political

subdivision of the state shall have the first right of subrogation

to any such award or settlement for costs of services incurred by

the state, state agency, or political subdivision in relation to

such claim, for service provided to the inmate at the request of the

inmate, and for all costs of incarceration, before any part of the

award is placed in the trust account of the inmate.

Added by Laws 1995, c. 141, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1995. Amended by Laws

1999, c. 127, § 2, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2002, c. 402, § 9, eff.

July 1, 2002; Laws 2004, c. 168, § 11, emerg. eff. April 27, 2004.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories