FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2006
Contact: Paul Lyon, Executive Director, (570) 574-3089

KINGSTON, PA (March 15, 2006) – The Committee for Justice for All today blasted members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for selling out injured people for the benefit of big business and corporate special interests.

“This is a sad day for the citizens of Pennsylvania ,” said Paul Lyon, Executive Director of The Committee for Justice for All. “The bill repealing joint and several liability, passed by the House in the dead of night, has betrayed the people’s rights for the benefit of the corporate elite.”

Senate Bill 435, deceptively named the “Fair Share Act,” was passed 118-81 by the House late Tuesday night. The bill, which was previously approved by the Senate, provides that any defendant in a lawsuit found to be less than 60 percent liable only has to pay their percentage share of damages, as determined by a jury. The House voted down a more sensible compromise proposed by Republican Rep. Thomas Gannon.

“This Draconian legislation adds insult to injury by unfairly shifting the burden of compensation away from corporate wrongdoers and onto the backs of injured victims,” said Lyon . “Many innocent victims of negligence will be left out in the cold because they will only be able to recover a fraction of the damages justly awarded them in a court of law. Negligent corporations, however, will be laughing all the way to the bank.”

Lyon urged Gov. Ed Rendell to veto the legislation and support the Gannon compromise.

The doctrine of joint and several liability, which has been in place for centuries in America, is intended to make sure that victims injured by someone else’s negligence are made whole. It allows any negligent party in a lawsuit to be held responsible for paying 100 percent of the damages.

Lyon said legislative restrictions on joint and several liability are part of a longstanding anti-consumer  agenda to undermine the role of the civil justice system as a regulator of reckless corporate behavior.

“If victims of negligence cannot be made whole by seeking justice in the courts, the burden ultimately will be shouldered by society, as injured people and their families are forced to seek public assistance,” he said. “Once again, the rich and powerful leave the rest of us holding the bag.”

Lyon urged citizens to contact Gov. Ed Rendell and urge him to veto SB 435.

CJA is a nonprofit Northeastern Pennsylvania advocacy group fighting to preserve the integrity of the civil justice system and the Constitutional right of all Americans to trial by a jury of their peers. For more information, please visit our web site at www.saynotocaps.org. 

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