TN’s Lawsuit Reform Legislation is off to the Governor

Three cheers for Tennessee! Today, the 107th Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011. Governor Haslam – a champion of lawsuit abuse reform, is expected to sign the bill in the coming days.

It’s an exciting day for reformers – Project Lawsuit Abuse has been following the reform movement in the state. Justin Owen, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, “Tennesseans spoke loud and clear to lawmakers that they were more interested in jobs than the status quo and an unpredictable civil justice system… This reform allows for a much more balanced and just system, and one that attracts quality employers with much needed and competitively-paying jobs.”

According to Tennessee Center for Policy Research, highlights of the bill include:
• There is no cap on economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, job loss, property damage, and rehabilitation costs as a result of a tort action. These damages are considered measurable, provable and objectively quantifiable.
• Subjective, non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience, or humiliation, are capped at $750,000 cap per occurrence for medical liability actions and per plaintiff for non-medical actions.
• There are higher caps in place for catastrophic events such as spinal cord injuries, extensive burn injuries, intent to injure and other specific circumstances.
• Punitive damages are capped at the greater of $500,000 or twice all other damages.
• Unless directly involved in the design and/or manufacturing of a product, sellers are no longer liable for punitive damages.
• Unless the manufacturer withheld or omitted regulatory information, manufacturers are no longer liable for punitive damages as long as they were in regulatory compliance.

Congratulations, Tennessee!