SB1977 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 07270 AJO 47379 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB1977

Introduced 2/10/2011, by Sen. Matt Murphy - Kirk W. Dillard

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading
735 ILCS 5/2-2101
735 ILCS 5/2-2102
735 ILCS 5/2-2103
735 ILCS 5/2-2104
735 ILCS 5/2-2105
735 ILCS 5/2-2106
735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5
735 ILCS 5/2-2107
735 ILCS 5/2-2108
735 ILCS 5/2-2109

Re-enacts and changes various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to product liability actions that were added by Public Act 89-7, which was held to be void in its entirety by the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Purpose.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1) "An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to civil actions, which may be referred to as the Civil Justice Reform Amendments of 1995", Public Act 89-7, approved March 9, 1995, added Part 21 to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure. Public Act 89-7 also contained other provisions.

(2) In Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997), the Illinois Supreme Court held that Public Act 89-7 was void in its entirety.

(3) The provisions of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure are of vital concern to the people of this State, and legislative action concerning these provisions is necessary.

(b) It is the purpose of this Act to re-enact the provisions of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure. This Act is intended to remove any questions as to the validity or content of those provisions.

(c) This Act is not intended to supersede any other Public Act. The re-enacted material is shown as existing text (i.e., without striking or underscoring) except for the changes made by this Act to Section 2-2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which are shown with striking and underscoring.

Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by re-enacting the heading of Part 21 of Article II and Sections 2-2101, 2-2102, 2-2103, 2-2104, 2-2105, 2-2106, 2-2106.5, 2-2107, and 2-2108 and by re-enacting and changing Section 2-2109 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading)

PART 21. PRODUCT LIABILITY

(735 ILCS 5/2-2101)

Sec. 2-2101. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the terms listed have the following meanings:

"Clear and convincing evidence" means that measure or degree of proof that will produce in the mind of the trier of fact a high degree of certainty as to the truth of the allegations sought to be established. This evidence requires a greater degree of persuasion than is necessary to meet the preponderance of the evidence standard.

"Harm" means (i) damage to property other than the product itself; (ii) personal physical injury, illness, or death; (iii) mental anguish or emotional harm to the extent recognized by applicable law; (iv) any loss of consortium or services; or (v) other loss deriving from any type of harm described in item (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv).

"Manufacturer" means (i) any person who is engaged in a business to design or formulate and to produce, create, make, or construct any product or component part of a product; (ii) a product seller with respect to all component parts of a product or a component part of a product that is created or affected when, before placing the product in the stream of commerce, the product seller designs or formulates and produces, creates, makes, or constructs an aspect of a product or a component part of a product made by another; or (iii) any product seller not described in (ii) that holds itself out as a manufacturer to the user of the product.

"Product liability action" means a civil action brought on any theory against a manufacturer or product seller for harm caused by a product.

"Product seller" means a person who, in the course of a business conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes, leases, installs, prepares, blends, packages, labels, markets, repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in placing a product in the stream of commerce.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2102)

Sec. 2-2102. Effect on other laws. Except as may be provided by other laws, any civil action that conforms to the definition of a product liability action as defined in Section 2-2101 of this Part shall be governed by the provisions of this Part.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2103)

Sec. 2-2103. Federal and State standards; presumption. In a product liability action, a product or product component shall be presumed to be reasonably safe if the aspect of the product or product component that allegedly caused the harm was specified or required, or if the aspect is specifically exempted for particular applications or users, by a federal or State statute or regulation promulgated by an agency of the federal or State government responsible for the safety or use of the product before the product was distributed into the stream of commerce.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2104)

Sec. 2-2104. No practical and feasible alternative design; presumption. If the design of a product or product component is in issue in a product liability action, the design shall be presumed to be reasonably safe unless, at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer, a practical and technically feasible alternative design was available that would have prevented the harm without significantly impairing the usefulness, desirability, or marketability of the product. An alternative design is practical and feasible if the technical, medical, or scientific knowledge relating to safety of the alternative design was, at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer, available and developed for commercial use and acceptable in the marketplace.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2105)

Sec. 2-2105. Changes in design or warning; inadmissibility. When measures are taken which, if taken previously, would have made an event less likely to occur, evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove a defect in a product, negligence, or culpable conduct in connection with the event. In a product liability action brought under any theory or doctrine, if the feasibility of a design change or change in warnings is not controverted, then a subsequent design change or change in warnings shall not be admissible into evidence. This rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for another purpose such as proving ownership, control, or impeachment.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2106)

Sec. 2-2106. Provision of written warnings to users of product; nonliability.

(a) The warning, instructing, or labeling of a product or specific product component shall be deemed to be adequate if pamphlets, booklets, labels, or other written warnings were provided that gave adequate notice to reasonably anticipated users or knowledgeable intermediaries of the material risks of injury, death, or property damage connected with the reasonably anticipated use of the product and instructions as to the reasonably anticipated uses, applications, or limitations of the product anticipated by the defendant.

(b) In the defense of a product liability action, warnings, instructions or labeling shall be deemed to be adequate if the warnings, instructions or labels furnished with the product were in conformity with the generally recognized standards in the industry at the time the product was distributed into the stream of commerce.

(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a defendant shall not be liable for failure to warn of material risks that were obvious to a reasonably prudent product user and material risks that were a matter of common knowledge to persons in the same position as or similar positions to that of the plaintiff in a product liability action.

(d) In any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for harm allegedly caused by a failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions, a defendant manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable if, at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer, the knowledge of the danger that caused the harm was not reasonably available or obtainable in light of existing scientific, technical, or medical information.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5)

Sec. 2-2106.5. Inherent characteristics of products; nonliability. In a product liability action, a manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable for harm allegedly caused by a product if the alleged harm was caused by an inherent characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the product that cannot be eliminated without substantially compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary knowledge common to the community.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2107)

Sec. 2-2107. Punitive damages. In a product liability action, punitive damages shall not be awarded against a manufacturer or product seller if the conduct of the defendant manufacturer, seller, or reseller that allegedly caused the harm was approved by or was in compliance with standards set forth in an applicable federal or State statute or in a regulation or other administrative action promulgated by an agency of the federal or State government responsible for the safety or use of the product, which statute or regulation was in effect at the time of the manufacturer's or product seller's alleged misconduct, unless the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the manufacturer or product seller intentionally withheld from or misrepresented to Congress, the State legislature, or the relevant federal or State agency material information relative to the safety or use of the product that would or could have resulted in a changed decision relative to the law, standard, or other administrative action.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2108)

Sec. 2-2108. No cause of action created. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to create a cause of action.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

(735 ILCS 5/2-2109)

Sec. 2-2109. This amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly 1995 adding Part 21 to the Code of Civil Procedure applies to causes of action accruing on or after its effective date.

(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.