Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502240077
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The panel, by a 21-11 vote mostly along party lines, approved the bill and sent it to the full House. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, was the only Democratic supporter of the measure.
The committee also passed, by a 19-12 party-line vote, a companion bill that would, among other things, require the losers of many federal lawsuits to pay the winners' legal fees. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., voted with the Republicans.
Supporters of the "loser pays" system say it would discourage frivolous lawsuits and promote settlement of worthy ones. But opponents, including House Democrats, contend it would hurt ordinary citizens who couldn't afford to pay big attorneys' fees.
The bill ``will make it more difficult for the poorest members of our society to receive justice,'' said Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the committee's senior Democrat.
Both measures are part of the GOP's ``Contract With America.'' Of all the items in that legislative agenda, the punitive damages bill is the one House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he worries most about losing. Last week, Gingrich predicted that it would be the toughest fight of the next 60 days and that the nation's trial lawyers, who oppose it, would create ``a real brawl.''
The punitive damages bill would establish a national, uniform set of laws on product liability and limit the sums awarded to injured people.
Republicans say the measure is needed to free business from a patchwork of state laws and to limit the growth of court-clogging lawsuits. Democrats contend the bill would deprive citizens of legal redress if they are harmed by defective products and would usurp states' rights.
Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said that despite his vote against the measure Thursday, he would ``keep an open mind when it comes to the floor'' of the House.
The bill sets a tough standard for plaintiffs to receive punitive damages. They must demonstrate that the harm they suffered resulted from conduct ``specifically intended to cause harm or manifesting a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights of others.''
The measure also caps punitive damage awards at either $250,000 or three times a plaintiff's economic damages, whichever is greater. The committee rejected an amendment Wednesday that would have raised the cap from $250,000 to $1 million.
The bill contains a ``statute of repose'' that protects manufacturers from being sued for damages more than 15 years after they made a product, unless the product caused a chronic illness.
Under the loser-pays proposal, losing parties would pay no more than they spent on their own attorneys, and courts could limit awards of legal fees under special circumstances.
by CNB