Senate GOP Revamps Liability Bill

Senate Republican leaders, chastened by dissent within their own party over a bill to overhaul product liability, agreed Monday to a compromise measure that would substantially scale back an ambitious first draft of the reform.

The new proposal, hammered out by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), would limit the punitive awards that juries could give plaintiffs in product liability lawsuits to two times their compensatory damages, or $250,000, whichever is greater.

At the same time, it would give judges discretion to hand out larger awards, although in such cases a defendant would be entitled to a new trial.

Finally, in cases where small businesses are defendants, the compromise bill would limit punitive damages to twice compensatory damages, or $250,000, whichever is lesser, giving judges no discretion to change the award.

The measure, which Rockefeller predicted would win “very broad support,” is to be voted on today.

Among the more controversial elements removed from the bill were Dole’s amendment to widen the legislation to cover all civil lawsuits as well as a provision to limit punitive damage awards in medical malpractice cases.