Update from the House: Tort reform measure passes House of Representatives

By By Rep. Jim Battle
Published: March 10, 2010

» 0 Comments | Post a Comment

The House spent a great deal of time this past week working on bills on our calendar. Long hours of debate produced passage of a lot of bills that had been on the House calendar for quite some time. Knowing that our budget debate will be in two weeks, we attempted to clear as much of the calendar as we could.

An important tort reform measure has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 104 to 9. 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.

The bill also sets up a sliding scale for contingent fee cases limiting the compensation to be received by the outside counsel based the amount of the award.

All other proceeds are to be used for the State of South Carolina based on the attorney general or solicitor’s judgment.

The bill further provides that outside counsel must provide the attorney general or solicitor a detailed account of all work performed each month. In the case of contingent fee cases, outside counsel’s compensation, not including punitive or exemplary damages, there will be no more than certain listed percentages corresponding to the amount of judgment. Proponents feel the measure will lower the cost of doing business and make the state more competitive by reducing frivolous lawsuits and limiting punitive damages to a realistic level.

Two bills regarding a change in the way the two constitutional officers are chosen have passed the House.

An amendment to the South Carolina Constitution that requires that the Governor upon the advice and consent of the General Assembly must appoint the Secretary of State has been sent over to the Senate for consideration.

The term of office must be for four years, coterminous with that of the Governor. The General Assembly is to provide for the duties, compensation, and qualifications for office, the procedures by which the appointment is made, and the procedures by which the Secretary of State may be removed from office.

A joint resolution also passed to amend the State Constitution deleting the Superintendent of Education from the list of state officers that the constitution requires to be elected. The joint resolution further provides that the Governor upon the advice and consent of the General Assembly must appoint the Superintendent of Education for a term coterminous with the Governor. The joint resolution further provides that the General Assembly shall provide by law for the duties, compensation, and qualifications for the office and the procedures for removal from office.