§47-27-4. Penalties for violations; civil actions; and damages.

A court reporter or the entity that produces and bills for the transcript which violates the provisions of sections two or three of this article is subject to civil penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction as follows: Any party to a civil action, a court reporter, attorney or other person who has been subject to a violation of the provisions of sections two or three of this article may recover, payable to the prevailing party, a civil penalty for any willful violation of this section and the court shall assess a civil penalty of no less than $2,500 for each violation: Provided, That no more than one civil penalty under this section may be assessed in any one matter pending before the court; and if the court finds that the court reporter has engaged in a course of repeated and willful violations of this section, it may assess an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation of this section. For any action filed pursuant to this section, the court, in its discretion, may award all or a portion of the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees, court costs and fees, to the prevailing party.