COLUMBIA --Breaking nearly three weeks of gridlock, the state Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that seeks to limit high-dollar lawsuits.

The vote was taken after lawmakers negotiated a deal on the bill's thorniest issue: who should pay for damages in cases involving multiple defendants.

The version approved by the Senate on a 43-3 vote states a plaintiff can only recover the full award for damages from defendants who are 50 percent responsible. In cases where nobody meets that threshold, defendants would pay only their share of the damages, said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

A House version of the bill passed earlier this session eliminated the clause, dubbed joint and several liability, which often forces wealthy defendants to pay the largest share of a jury award.

"It is fundamentally unfair for someone who is 5 or 10 percent liable to pay 100 percent of the damages because other people don't have deep pockets," McConnell said. "So we said you have to be 50 percent liable to be stuck with the bill."

Lawmakers from both parties huddled in back rooms for days trying to strike a deal to move the legislation forward.

As debate began Tuesday, little seemed to change when a couple of hard-line senators wouldn't budge. When negotiators ordered out Chick-fil-A for lunch, it seemed a deal would remain elusive.

Even after a compromise was struck, a couple of Democratic senators objected to the compromise. But the party's leadership told them that the amended version was the best deal possible.

"It's a compromise," said Sen. John Land, the Senate's Democratic leader. "I am not happy with it, and I don't think the other side is happy with it, but I think it is the best deal we could get for South Carolina."

Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, who was one of the three lawmakers who voted against the bill, didn't buy that argument. "It might be the best we were going to get, but I wasn't going to stand for that," Ford said. Bill supporters "are more concerned with big business than their citizens," he said.

The legislation will receive its final reading today before it is sent to the House, which must concur on the amendments.

In addition to assigning liability, the bill also says lawsuits can only be filed in counties where the injury occurred or where the defendant lives or conducts business. McConnell said this would stop attorneys who look for "jackpot venues" that give out large settlements.

Another item in the bill states a builder would only be responsible for construction flaws on a home or business for eight years after it is completed, instead the current 13 years.

Trial lawyer groups who opposed the legislation painted a grim picture for plaintiffs if it is signed into law. "It's a sad day," said Fayrell Furr, past president of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association. "The rights of people who are injured were taken away from them."

Cam Crawford, executive director of South Carolinians for Tort Reform, said the compromise is a victory for economic development in the state. "It was a fair deal and it will move the state forward and make us more competitive," he said.

Crawford's group was criticized Tuesday by a group of senators who were targeted in a recent recorded phone message. The automated calls, which featured Gov. Mark Sanford, asked people to call their senators and voice support for the bill.

The calls coincided with Sanford's tort reform tour in Columbia, Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach on Monday. Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, called into question the role of special interest groups like Crawford's.

"I think it's time for the smoke in the backroom to be cleared," he said. "Who's funding all those calls?"

Crawford declined to put a price tag on Sanford's message, or any previous efforts by his group to influence lawmakers on this issue.

The governor's tour was paid for in part by South Financial, a banking and insurance company based in Greenville. The governor's plane was "out of commission," spokesman Will Folks said, so South Financial donated a plane. A company representative was not available for comment.

SENATE ROLL CALL

A "yes" vote gave approval to a bill to limit lawsuit damages. A "no" vote was to stop passage.

Democrats Voting Yes

John Matthews, Bowman, and Clementa Pinckney, Ridgeland

Republicans Voting Yes

Ray Cleary, Murrells Inlet; Chip Campsen, Isle of Palms; Larry Grooms, Bonneau; Glenn McConnell, Charleston; Bill Mescher, Pinopolis; and Randy Scott, Summerville

Democrats Voting No

Robert Ford, D-Charleston