OHIO State senator attaches measures for tort reform to obesity bill
The tort-reform bill caps noneconomic damages at $250,000.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Republicans in the Ohio Senate are making another bid to gain passage of legislation to cap jury awards and limit liability for businesses and individuals in civil lawsuits.
Senate President Doug White, R-Manchester, said Thursday he intends to have most of the provisions of Senate-passed civil-litigation reforms added to another bill that would make it more difficult for food-processing companies to be sued for health-care costs attributed to obesity.
The Senate's tort-reform bill, sponsored by state Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, has been pending in a House committee.
Obesity bill
The so-called obesity bill that Senate Republicans want to insert tort-reform provisions into has passed the House and is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Republican Senate leaders are to amend the bill next week, White said. The bill could be voted out of the judiciary committee as early as Tuesday, and White said he intends to bring the amended obesity measure before the full Senate for a vote before lawmakers recess for the summer.
Stivers' tort-reform bill, which is backed by Republican Gov. Bob Taft, would cap noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering at $250,000 in most cases. It also sets a 10-year limit on manufacturers' liability for products or services they provide.
House reaction
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that's been hearing the Senate-passed tort-reform bill said he would be disappointed if Senate Republicans go through with their plan.
"In the House, we've had a very deliberative schedule to thoroughly investigate the [tort-reform] bill," said state Rep. W. Scott Oelslager, R-Stark County, judiciary committee chairman.
Lawmakers need to balance the needs of business with that of ordinary people, he said.
"The court is the only place where the average person can level the playing field against the mighty," Oelslager added.