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Push is on for commonsense lawsuit abuse reform
Re-enactment of Fair Share Act is PA Chamber members' top priority The PA Chamber is fully engaged with the General Assembly to secure enactment of a number of its members’ lawsuit abuse reform priorities. They include: ensuring that defendants in civil liability cases are responsible only for their fair share of damages; preventing plaintiffs’ attorneys from shopping for favorable court venues; protecting innocent sellers of products who had nothing to do with the product’s manufacture; and enacting other reasonable protections for manufacturers. These improvements will help create a legal system that is fair for all Pennsylvanians. The debate over lawsuit abuse reform, or tort reform, is about restoring common sense, fairness and personal responsibility to the Commonwealth’s legal system. This is important because a state’s legal system has a direct bearing on the cost and quality of health care; the cost of consumer goods and services; new product research and development; business investments and job creation. Pennsylvania has one of the worst legal climates in the nation, which threatens all of these. One of the PA Chamber’s first orders of business is re-enactment of the Fair Share Act – or joint and several liability reform. Under the Fair Share Act, damage awards in civil liability cases would be proportional to responsibility for an injury or loss except in cases in which a defendant is: (1) found liable for intentional fraud or tort; (2) held liable for environmental hazards; (3) held civilly liable as a result of drunk driving; or (4) held more than 60 percent liable for the injury or loss. However, a defendant who is found more than 60 percent, but less than 100 percent, liable would still maintain the right to take action against other defendants seeking compensation for contributory damages. Under the current system of joint and several liability, a defendant found only 1 percent responsible can be held liable for 100 percent of the damages. Trial lawyers take advantage of the unfair legal doctrine in order to go after “deep pockets.” The reasonable changes contained in the proposed Fair Share Act restore balance, while maintaining extra protections for victims in the egregious situations outlined above. Support for the Fair Share Act crosses party lines, but the road to its enactment has been rocky up to this point. Passing for the first time in 2002, then-House legislative leaders challenged the law in court on the grounds that it violated the Pennsylvania Constitution's Single Subject rule because the joint and several language was included in an unrelated bill. The courts agreed and the reform law was thrown out based on that technicality. While campaigning for office, former Gov. Ed Rendell promised to sign a joint and several reform bill if elected. The provision made it to the governor's desk early in his first term, again with bipartisan support. However, Rendell vetoed the legislation. Evidence shows that commonsense legal reforms enacted in other states over the past 20 years have lowered consumer costs, created jobs, reduced insurance costs and increased business investment and innovation. Pennsylvania is not enjoying these same benefits. Pennsylvania’s job creators, families and individuals are looking to elected officials for that to change. More information about joint and several liability reform is available here. The Citizens to Protect PA Jobs website contains additional information about how Pennsylvania’s unbalanced legal system impacts individuals, families and communities. ### Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business. |
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