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Article published Feb 17, 2005
House passes lawsuit limits
Robert W. Dalton
Staff
Writer
COLUMBIA -- The state House on Wednesday passed a bill that
overhauls the state's civil justice system.In the most far-reaching change, the
House eliminated joint and several liability -- the "deep pockets" rule that
said if multiple parties are responsible for a person's injuries, one party
could be forced to pay an entire award if the others can't pay, even if that
party had the least responsibility for the injuries.Under the bill passed
Wednesday, a defendant would be responsible only for the portion of the injuries
it caused."The big winner here is the business community," said House Speaker
Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg. "We dealt with joint and several liability in
a way that nobody expected."Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, said the losers were
easy to identify as well: The people of South Carolina."We start out protecting
conclusively proven wrongdoers when we do away with joint and several," Smith
said. "Innocently injured South Carolinians will be left holding the bag."The
bill also:uEliminates venue shopping -- the practice of filing a lawsuit in
counties where awards might be higher. Lawsuits must now be filed where the
injured party lives or where an accident occurred.uReduces from 13 years to
eight years the time a homeowner has in which to sue a builder for construction
defects.uIncreases penalties for lawsuits deemed frivolous by the trial judge."A
lot of heavy lifting went into passing this bill," said Speaker David Wilkins,
R-Greenville."It goes a long way in better protecting South Carolina businesses
and citizens from unmerited lawsuits, jury shopping and the burgeoning costs
associated with excessive jury costs."Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston,
said the bill would do more for insurance companies than it would for average
citizens."Everybody said this was an act to protect citizens, but nobody's told
me how," said Altman, the only Republican to vote against the measure."Insurance
companies have all the money in the world. They keep it by not paying
claims."Michael Fields, state director of the National Federation of Independent
Business, called the bill a good start."We asked for four things and they
addressed four things," Fields said. "We've got to feel pretty good about where
we are in February."I think it relates to the fact that we've done a good job as
small-business owners and the business community in convincing them that a
person ought to be held accountable only for their portion of an injury. South
Carolinians understand fairness."The House approved the bill by a 101-15 margin.
The vote came about two hours after Gov. Mark Sanford held a news conference
calling for quick action."It's very important for our state's ability to compete
that we pass real tort reform," Sanford said.Sanford said Georgia's passage of
tort reform legislation earlier in the week -- it also eliminated joint and
several liability and capped damages for pain and suffering at $350,000 -- put
that state even further ahead of South Carolina in the competition for capital
investment and new jobs."Georgia was already beating us. They enhanced their
ability with what they did yesterday," Sanford said.The bill will receive third
reading today and then will be passed to the Senate.Robert W. Dalton can be
reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.