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Pa. Senate OKs plan to limit liability awards
Defendants would be held responsible only for a share
proportionate to harm they were judged to have caused.
George Strawley ASSOCIATED PRESS
State senators yesterday passed a bill that would hold defendants in a lawsuit responsible for only a share of an award proportionate to their responsibility for the harm inflicted in a case.
The measure, which passed the Senate 40-9 in a vote at about 1 a.m., would severely restrict the legal concept of "joint and several liability." The legal principle holds that if two or more parties are found to be negligent in a lawsuit, one can be held fully responsible for paying the judgment if the other does not have the money to pay a share.
The bill goes back for a vote in the House, which passed a similar version last week.
Hospitals, the state's medical lobby, and business groups supported the bill. The Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association opposed it.
Supporters of the measure, Senate Bill 1089, say the current legal principle leads to abusive lawsuits that can drain businesses that have deep pockets but played a minor role in a wrong inflicted on someone.
"Passage of Senate Bill 1089 is about supporting economic development and preserving our tax base," said Sen. Harold F. Mowery (R., Cumberland).
Under the bill passed by the House, defendants who are found by a judge or jury to be less than 60 percent liable would not be made to pay the full award unless the wrong was found to be intentional. Rather, a defendant who is considered responsible for 10 percent of the fault would pay 10 percent of the total award.
A Republican-sponsored amendment in the Senate would provide exceptions for lawsuits involving environmental hazards and alcohol-related accidents.
Opponents said the bill would hurt accident victims who file lawsuits and may not be fully compensated when defendants do not have the ability to pay an award. Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow called the bill "the most anticonsumer piece of legislation" he has encountered since he joined the Senate in 1971.
Gov. Schweiker issued a statement after the vote calling the measure "the most dramatic change in the Pennsylvania civil-justice system in decades."
Limiting Liability
Joint and several liability. The legal principle means if two or more parties are found to be negligent in a lawsuit, one can be held fully responsible for paying the judgment if the other does not have the money to pay.
The changes. Bills passed by the Pennsylvania House and Senate would restrict that. Defendants who are found by a judge or jury to be less than 60 percent liable would not be forced to pay the full award unless the wrong was found to be intentional.
What's next. Because the Senate bill includes exceptions for lawsuits involving environmental hazards and alcohol-related accidents, the legislation must go back to the House for a vote. |
