Missouri GOP Again Seeking to Limit Liability Lawsuits

With new Republican Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ support, GOP lawmakers this year are pushing a collection of bills to limit liability lawsuits that supporters have praised as pro-business but critics have slammed as hindering access to the courts.

The legislation deals with how courts handle claims that businesses or individuals committed scams, acted carelessly or were discriminatory and as a result hurt people. So-called tort reform has been pushed for decades, primarily by Republicans, both nationally and in Missouri.

Republican Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard told reporters that the goal of changing tort laws is to ensure “business can do what they do, which is hire and grow without having the undue burden of lawsuits.”

“We want to make sure that consumers are protected but also make sure it’s fair for both sides,” the Joplin lawmaker said.

Backers such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association argue there are too many lawsuits in the state, driving up the cost of doing business and potentially deterring companies from expanding or moving to Missouri.

Republican efforts to restrict liability lawsuits are primarily opposed by Democrats and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, which says proposed bills would cut down citizens’ access to the courts and limit the ability of people who are injured or defrauded from fighting back.

“This Republican majority seems determined to keep Missourians from having meaningful access to their courts,” said Democratic Sen. Scott Sifton, an Affton attorney. “That’s going to be bad for victims of all kinds in our state.”

Both sides raised substantially similar arguments in 2005 when lawmakers sent then-Republican Gov. Matt Blunt a bill limiting liability cases, including putting caps on the money juries can award victims.

But the Missouri Supreme Court in 2012 struck down caps for noneconomic damages in medical-malpractice cases and in 2014 ruled against caps on punitive damages in common-law claims of injury.

Lawmakers in 2015 reinstated caps for medical-malpractice cases.

Republicans this session have proposed dozens of bills under the tort-reform umbrella. Some of the proposals would:

• Add legal steps for people suing over asbestos exposure.
• Make it harder for employees to sue for discrimination in the workplace.
• Restrict injured or defrauded people from joining together in lawsuits against companies and clamp down on class-action lawsuits.
• Change the requirements used to determine whether a witness is an “expert” for non-jury civil cases.
• Only allow juries to see the out-of-pocket amount paid, not the price before insurance, for medical expenses in personal injury cases.

Missouri already has passed laws supported by American Tort Reform Association in nine of 10 legal areas the group wants reformed, although the Supreme Court struck down some. Only Ohio, Texas and Colorado have done more, according to the association.

Measures proposed this year in Missouri would add restrictions to current laws.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Missouri Politics