Senate approves product liability reform law

Abstract

After weeks of debate and several failed attempts to invoke cloture on a Democratic filibuster, the Senate last week passed a bill to reform U.S. product liability laws by a vote of 61 to 37. The bill would limit punitive damages in most product liability suits to twice the compensatory damages (economic losses plus noneconomic losses due to pain and suffering), or $250,000, whichever is greater. It would also eliminate joint liability for noneconomic losses. This means that to collect noneconomic damages from several defendants, a plaintiff must prove each defendant's degree of fault. In addition, the bill cuts off most rights to sue if the product is more than 20 years old at the time of injury. The Senate bill is similar in some ways to the product liability bill (H.R. 956) passed in the House. The House bill is much broader, however. It places a cap on punitive damages for all civil lawsuits, ...