CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Senate and the House of Delegates Tuesday each easily passed legislation that supporters say will improve the state’s legal climate.
HB 2002 dealing with comparative fault and damages passed the House 74-25, while the Senate approved 33-0 a bill (SB 13) making it harder to sue a property owner when someone is injured by an open and obvious risk.
HB 2002 now goes to the Senate, while SB 13 goes to the House for consideration.
The new Republican leadership in both chambers has made legal reforms a top priority in their first session. The action comes after several years of lobbying and a public relations campaign by the Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, which says the legal climate here makes West Virginia a “judicial hellhole.”
However, during debate reform proponents generally stayed away from the rhetoric and stuck to the specifics of the complicated bills. The most debate was in the House, where Republicans beat back a series of Democratic amendments.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Shott (R-Mercer) who is guiding the legal reforms through the chamber, said the GOP is following through on its promises.
“The basic thrust of leadership on both the House and Senate side is to try to identify those features of our state that are creating a perception that this is not a good place to have a business, to grow jobs,” Shott said on the House floor.
However, Tim Miley (D-Harrison), the House Minority Leader, questioned whether the legislation would accomplish anything.
“Do you really think a business contemplating opening up is thinking, ‘gee, I know I’m going to hurt people. I know I’m going to engage in wrongful conduct with others… but I want to make sure that I only get my responsibility for my percentage of fault?’ No one is doing that,” Miley said.
The House bill ensures that defendants are held responsible for only their share of the damages they cause and also eliminates defendants from being held liable for damages that are the responsibility of another individual.
However, bill opponents said the legislation means an individual who is entitled to damages may not get the full amount if one or more of the defendants is bankrupt.
The Senate bill tightens up the doctrine of “open and obvious” by protecting property owners from damages for injuries sustained as a result of open and obvious dangers.
A state Supreme Court decision last year guided more of those cases to a jury to decide whether the property owner was at fault.