Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Bill Would Codify Liability Standard
With the Maryland Judiciary’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure moving forward with its study of changing the state’s tort liability standards by rule, Del. Ben Kramer (D-Dist. 19) introduced legislation (HB 1129) that would codify Maryland’s current common law doctrine of contributory negligence.
The bill will be heard today in the house Judiciary Committee. The Maryland Chamber strongly supports this bill as a reaffirmation of the standard of tort law that has existed in Maryland for over 150 years. The contributory negligence standard of personal responsibility ensures that persons will not seek to recover damages from another person when they have, through their own actions, contributed to their injury.
“The enactment of this bill is urgently needed to protect against an activist judiciary that appears headed to adoption of a tort liability standard of comparative fault,” Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt said.
The Maryland Chamber has long opposed shifting to a system of comparative fault because it would increase lawsuits and damages against businesses and make our state less competitive with neighboring states. Efforts to introduce a standard of comparative fault have repeatedly been rejected by the General Assembly over the past 40 years.
You can view Wineholt’s complete positions statement, along with a letter endorsed by more than 52 Maryland companies and business organizations here. For more information, contact Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
