(a) In order to secure and protect the moneys to be received as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 104556, in civil litigation under any legal theory involving a signatory, successor of a signatory, or an affiliate of a signatory to the Master Settlement Agreement that has not been brought to trial as of the effective date of this section, the amount of the required undertaking, bond, or equivalent surety to be furnished during the pendency of an appeal or any discretionary appellate review of any judgment granting legal, equitable, or any other form of relief in order to stay the execution thereon during the entire course of the appellate review shall be set in accordance with applicable laws and rules of the court, except that the total undertaking, bond, or equivalent surety that is required per case, whether individual, aggregate, or otherwise, of all appellants, collectively, may not exceed 100 percent of the verdict or one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) whichever is less, regardless of the value of the judgment.
(b) Nothing in this section or any other provision of law shall be construed to eliminate the discretion of the court, for good cause shown, to set the undertaking or bond on appeal in an amount lower than that otherwise established by law.
(c) If the appellee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that a party bringing an appeal or seeking a stay of execution of judgment and for whom the undertaking has been limited under this section, is intentionally dissipating or diverting assets outside the ordinary course of its business for the purpose of avoiding ultimate payment of the judgment, any limitation under subdivision (a) may be rescinded and the court may order any actions necessary to prevent dissipation or diversion of the assets.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 226. Effective January 1, 2005.)