Senator Johnson proposes the following amendment (SJ-244.MB0023S):
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking Section 15-38-15(A)(5) and inserting:
(5) Upon the completion of subitem (4), the court shall enter judgment for the plaintiff against each defendant in an amount equal to the total amount of damages awarded in subitem (4) multiplied by the percentage of fault assigned to each respective defendant in subitem (1) using the following criteria:
(a) each defendant is severally liable for the total amount of the plaintiff's noneconomic damages, as defined in Section 15-32-210, and any punitive or exemplary damages; and
(b) if the percentage of fault of any one defendant is greater than fifty percent of the total fault involved in the act or omission that cause the plaintiff's damages, then the defendant is jointly and severally liable to the total amount of plaintiff's economic damages.
(6) If the percentage of fault of any defendant that is charged under Section 56-5-2930, 56-5-2933; 56-5-2945 is greater than fifty percent of the total fault in the tortious act or omission that caused the plaintiff's damages, then the total amount of damages for which the licensee is liable shall not be more than fifty percent of the plaintiff's total damages. Licensee shall have the same meaning as in Section 15-3-710(A)(2).
(7) For purposes of this section, the terms economic damages and noneconomic damages have the same meaning as defined in Section 15-32-210.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by striking 15-38-15(C) and inserting:
(C) The following are excluded from being added to the verdict form pursuant to subsection (B):
(1) a person or entity not subject to civil liability or payment of damages in a civil action due to worker's compensation statutes or U.S. Bankruptcy Code;
(2) a person or entity where the plaintiff's damages arise in whole or in part from assault, battery, sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, financial fraud, or theft;
(3) a person who is convicted of or pleads nolo contendere to any criminal offense for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol, which is related to the alleged damages that are the subject of the underlying dram shop complaint;
(4)(3) a person whose fault is imputed to the defendant or whose fault is based upon the fault of the nonparty for which a defendant is vicariously liable;
(5)(4) a person involved in a case where the causes of action involve strict liability; or
(6)(5) causes of action involving PFAS or asbestos.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by adding (F) and (G) to Section 15-38-15:
(F) This section does not apply:
(1) to an action commenced by the State, a State agency, a municipality, a county, a local government, a regional public authority, a special purpose district, a public utility, or any other governmental entity or political subdivision, including, but not limited to, claims seeking recovery of public funds, remediation costs, or other damages arising form acts or omissions of third parties that result in harm to public health, safety, infrastructure, or the environment;
(2) to a defendant whose conduct is determined to be intentional, including an act or omission that is intentional; or
(3) where two or more defendants or nonparties knowingly pursue a common plan or design to commit a tortious act, or actively take part in it. This subitem does not apply to any cause of action arising out Section 15-3-710.
(4) where the defendant or non-party is convicted with a crime, punishable by a year or more, for the same conduct alleged to be at issues in the civil action;
(G) The provisions of this section do not apply to causes of action involving PFAS or asbestos commenced prior to the effective date of this Act. In such cases, liability shall be determined in accordance with other applicable statutory law and common law governing such torts.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by striking Section 15-78-120 and inserting:
Section 15-78-120. (a)(A) For any action or claim for damages brought under the provisions of this chapter, the liability shall not exceed the following limits:
(1) Except as provided in Section 15-78-120(a)(3), no person shall recover in any action or claim brought hereunder a sum exceeding threefive hundred thousand dollars because of loss arising from a single occurrence regardless of the number of agencies or political subdivisions involved.
(2) Except as provided in Section 15-78-120(a)(4), the total sum recovered hereunder arising out of a single occurrence shall not exceed six hundred thousandone million dollars regardless of the number of agencies or political subdivisions or claims or actions involved.
(3) No person may recover in any action or claim brought hereunder against any governmental entity and caused by the tort of any licensed physician or dentist, employed by a governmental entity and acting within the scope of his profession, a sum exceeding one million two hundred thousandtwo million dollars because of loss arising from a single occurrence regardless of the number of agencies or political subdivisions involved.
(4) The total sum recovered hereunder arising out of a single occurrence of liability of any governmental entity for any tort caused by any licensed physician or dentist, employed by a governmental entity and acting within the scope of his profession, may not exceed one million two hundred thousandtwo million dollars regardless of the number of agencies or political subdivisions or claims or actions involved.
(5) The provisions of Section 15-78-120(a)(3) and (a)(4) shall in no way limit or modify the liability of a licensed physician or dentist, acting within the scope of his profession, with respect to any action or claim brought hereunder which involved services for which the physician or dentist was paid, should have been paid, or expected to be paid at the time of the rendering of the services from any source other than the salary appropriated by the governmental entity or fees received from any practice plan authorized by the employer whether or not the practice plan is incorporated and registered with the Secretary of State.
(b)(B) No award for damages under this chapter shall include punitive or exemplary damages or interest prior to judgment.
(c)(C) In any claim, action, or proceeding to enforce a provision of this chapter, the signature of an attorney or party constitutes a certificate by him that he has read the pleading, motion, or other paper; that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry it is well-grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, and that it is not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation. If a pleading, motion, or other paper is not signed, it shall be stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the pleader or movant. If a pleading, motion, or other paper is signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both, an appropriate sanction, which may include an order to pay the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of the pleading, motion, or other paper, including a reasonable attorney's fee.
(d) At the end of each calendar year, the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, Board of Economic Advisors must determine the increase or decrease in the ratio of the Consumer Price Index to the index as of December 31 of the previous year, and the limitation on compensation for all claims pursuant to items (1), (2), (3), or (4) in subsection (a) must be increased or decreased accordingly. As soon as practicable after this adjustment is calculated, the Director of the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office shall submit the revised limitation on compensation to the State Register for publication pursuant to Section 1-23-40(2) and the revised limitation becomes effective upon publication in the State Register. For purposes of this subsection "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by adding (K) to Section 15-3-710:
(K) The provisions of this section are the exclusive manner for bringing a dram shop cause of action.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered new SECTION to read:
A. Section 38-77-140. (A) An automobile insurance policy may not be issued or delivered in this State to the owner of a motor vehicle or may not be issued or delivered by an insurer licensed in this State upon a motor vehicle then principally garaged or principally used in this State, unless it contains a provision insuring the persons defined as insured against loss from the liability imposed by law for damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of these motor vehicles within the United States or Canada, subject to limits exclusive of interest and costs, with respect to each motor vehicle, as follows:
(1) twenty-fivefifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person;
(2) fiftyone hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to two or more persons in any one accident; and
(3) twenty-fivefifty thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.
(B) Nothing in this article prevents an insurer from issuing, selling, or delivering a policy providing liability coverage in excess of these requirements.
B. This SECTION takes effect two years after the effective date of this act.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended by striking Section 61-2-145(A) and inserting:
Section 61-2-145. (A) In addition to all other requirements, a person licensed or permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, which remains open after five o'clock p.m. to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, except for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation is required to maintain a liquor liability insurance policy or a general liability insurance policy with a liquor liability endorsement for a total coverage of at least one millionfive hundred thousand dollars during the period of the biennial permit or license. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation licensed or permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, which remains open after five o'clock p.m. to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, is required to maintain a liquor liability insurance policy or a general liability insurance policy with a liquor liability endorsement for a total coverage of at least three hundred thousand dollars during the period of the biennial permit or license. Failure to maintain this coverage constitutes grounds for suspension or revocation of the permit or license.
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 18 and inserting:
SECTION 18. Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.