Lawmakers rally in three states to limit jury verdicts
State lawmakers in Iowa, Florida and Georgia are addressing limits on jury awards to protect against nuclear verdicts.
State lawmakers in Iowa and Florida are interested in putting caps on what a jury can award a plaintiff.
Iowa
Iowa is considering legislation to shield trucking companies from liability for direct negligence if their driver is involved in a serious collision.
If the bill, SB228, becomes law, jury awards in a civil lawsuit would be capped at $1 million in cases involving crashes with commercial truck drivers.
It passed the Iowa Senate in late February by a vote of 30-19.
The bill says a trial court “shall dismiss from the civil action any claim of the employer’s direct negligence in hiring, training, supervising or trusting the employee, or other claims of direct negligence on the part of the employer for the employee’s harmful conduct.”
The total liability cap recoverable by each plaintiff in any civil action involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death “shall be limited to $1 million, regardless of the number of claims, theories of liabilities, or defendants in the civil action,” the bill reads.
“Noneconomic damages” include pain and suffering, emotional trauma, or loss of a spouse. Medical bills and lost wages are considered economic damages. There is no limit on liability for economic damages in the bill.
If it becomes law, this amount can be adjusted to account for inflation by the secretary of state beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and every even-numbered year after that.
The Iowa House amended the Senate bill just before the end of March, raising the limit from the Senate’s $1 million to $5 million. The Iowa House also added a list of instances when the limit would not be in place, including if the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, had not valid license or permit, was driving recklessly, was using an electronic communications device, or speeding 15 mph over the legal speed limit.
The Senate must sign off on the changes before the bill is sent to the governor for her signature.
There was an attempt to pass similar legislation last year.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in February signed another bill into law limiting jury verdicts. That law limits how much money Iowans can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. That law also limits noneconomic damages to $2 million in lawsuits against hospitals and $1 million in lawsuits against clinics and individual doctors.
Florida
Florida is following up on property insurance litigation reform passed in December with an eye on what are called frivolous lawsuits targeting trucking businesses and other small businesses.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the planned litigation reforms in mid-February. “One-way attorney fees” are under attack. Those type of fees allow only one of the parties in a lawsuit to receive attorneys’ fees. This lets one party attack more aggressively while the other party, for fear of legal costs, is deterred from pursuing a claim or asserting a defense.
The litigation reform is intended to institute reforms to protect small businesses from being subjected to paying exorbitant damages when they are not primarily at fault. It also is intended to set standards for awarding medical damages to prevent fraudulent practices. These include requiring medical records, procedure codes, and information regarding health insurance reimbursement to ensure accurate settlements are reached between parties.
DeSantis name-checked “Judicial Hellholes” in his announcement, which refers to the American Tort Reform Foundation’s trademarked list of jurisdictions where litigation changes are needed. Florida makes the group’s “watch list.”
The litigation reform announcement was rebutted by the Florida Justice Association, an organization representing trial lawyers.
“We cannot allow big insurance or multimillion dollar corporations, like Patriot Transportation, who joined Gov. DeSantis and legislative leaders at today’s press conference, to dictate our rights and block the courthouse doors,” the group said.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Patriot Transportation Holding LLC is a publicly traded tank truck hauler serving the southeastern U.S.
Georgia
Georgia ranks as the No. 1 Judicial Hellhole, according to the activist American Tort Reform Foundation.
One litigation angle being scrutinized by state lawmakers is the practice of naming truck insurers as defendants in lawsuits filed after crashes involving commercial trucks.
The Senate Transportation Committee sent SB191 to the full Georgia Senate in late February. The bill would repeal Georgia law that allows injured plaintiffs to sue truck insurance carriers directly. The practice is known as “joinder.” Georgia is one of four states that allow it.
Usually, injured parties may recover up to the limits of the negligent party’s insurance policy. Once the at-fault driver’s policy reaches its limit, or if the defendant can’t be served, the plaintiff can sue the insurer for damages. The current law provided a way for injured parties to be made whole if the trucking company owner or operator could not be located.
If this bill becomes law, truck insurers would avoid being named as defendants in lawsuits filed after trucking crashes. LL