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A civil lawsuit is a non-criminal proceeding in which one party sues another in court. Damages may be awarded by the court of various types to include compensatory, aggravated, and punitive damages. Other relief may be sought as well. Tort reform aims to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring litigation or to reduce damages that they can receive. A tort is a civil wrong that causes harm to a person or their property. Tort reform is a novel idea for most corporations because they claim it would lower costs to consumers - they pay less in insurance premiums, and it ultimately saves you money. Car insurance premiums are one prime example, wherein "ambulance chasers" (lawyers that specialize in bringing cases seeking damages for personal injury) may contribute significantly to the rise in costs... Click Here.
Besides personal injury cases, tort reformers argue that medical malpractice, product liability and defamation suits are a strain on the court system. Though a divorce is not a tort, it is a civil matter. Without a pre-nuptial agreement, the amount that can be awarded to an ex-spouse isn't regulated. Basketball legend Michael Jordan paid his ex-wife, Juanita Vanoy, an astounding $168 million dollars, making it the most expensive divorce settlement at the time. That's peanuts compared to what Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, paid to his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott. She received 4% of Amazon giving her a net worth of $36.5 billion dollars making her the fifth richest woman in the world. For those of us that don't have Jeff Bezos' money, capped damages would be helpful in preventing someone from going into total ruin when facing a civil lawsuit. People may not consider that big corporations can sue the "little" people and burden them with the cost of a legal defense that they cannot afford. However, if lawsuits were capped, corporations would have free rein to damage the environment, harm people with defective products, etc., because the predictability of capped costs would allow businesses to easily factor it into their budget. For plaintiffs who have been seriously injured and/or require long-term care, the capped award may prove to be inadequate compensation down the road. Uncapped costs force accountability when negligence has occurred on the defendant's end, not to mention that fact that some acts may be intentional.