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2/26/2014
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Morgan's bill to help victims receive settlements
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 STATE HOUSE, FEB 26 – State Representative Patricia Morgan (R District 26- Coventry, Warwick, West Warwick) filed legislation to help victims receive legal settlements. “My bill seeks to encourage legal settlements to quickly get money to those in need.” said Morgan.
Representative Morgan’s bill would bring legal tort reform to Rhode Island. Joint and several liability is a legal definition which makes multiple defendants liable for the victim’s entire loss, regardless of the degree of fault.
“A defendant 5% at fault may be held accountable for 100% of the damages.” said Morgan. “Instead of reaching a fast settlement, this defendant may fight a lengthy court battle; thereby delaying compensation to the victim. Under my bill, this defendant will have an incentive to settle the case to the 5% fault, providing quick relief to the injured party.”
Rhode Island is one of only eight states to follow a pure joint and several liability statute. Under this statute, a defendant may be fully liable for an entire settlement for only 1% of liability. Many states use a system of variable liability, where defendants are considered individually liable if less than 51% at fault. “Basically, if the defendant is less than 51% at fault, he will only pay his share of liability.” explained Morgan.
“Rhode Island has seen the merits of variable liability statutes in the past.” said Morgan. “In the wake of the Station Nightclub fire, the General Assembly passed a joint and several liability exclusion to promote settlements for the victims. Two weeks ago, the General Assembly passed another exclusion for the 38 Studios litigation. The rationale for this bill’s passage two weeks ago was to induce settlements with smaller defendants. Why don’t we allow this tort reform for the entire state? We pick and choose only certain cases, while there are victims in Rhode Island who could benefit.”
In addition to helping victims, there is an economic component to joint and several liability. Pure joint and several liability statutes such as Rhode Island’s create higher potential liability for businesses. Higher liability is a disincentive for new businesses to locate in RI or for existing businesses to expand. “We need to reform Rhode Island’s laws to make the state more competitive and attract business. We can help victims and the business community with this one bill.”
“This is about helping the average Rhode Islander receive compensation quickly. It is not fair to Rhode Islanders when the General Assembly picks and chooses specific cases to award exclusions. It is time to provide this legal benefit to everyone in our state.”
For more information, contact:
Jeffrey Robert, House Minority Office
State House Room 106
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2259
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