Lawmakers voted 104-9 for a tort reform package Wednesday. After a perfunctory final vote in the House, the bill goes to the Senate.
Several amendments failed that were sponsored by Marlboro County Democrat Doug Jennings, as he attempted to raise the cap on punitive damages. The bill states that punitive damages would be limited to $350,000 or three times the amount of compensatory damages in a given case, whichever is greater. Compensatory damages compensate the victim for costs incurred and damage done. Punitive damages are designed to further reward the victim, and punish the one being sued.
Jennings said that the cap would only apply in rare cases and would not entice industry to the state, but he said in some cases it would create an injustice, as when a family loses a child in an accident to a drunk driver.
Jennings asserted that the cap will have an unexpected side effect. “What it will do, really, is impact the number of cases that end up going to court, opposed to those that settle,” he said. “If you pass something that is too restrictive, you’ll clog your court up with more cases going to jury trial.”
Sumter County Democrat David Weeks asked Jennings if the cap didn’t remind him of the recent cases surrounding Toyota.
(Weeks, Jennings on damages cap MP3 2:59)
Weeks,Jennings on damages cap
