...continued Springfield battleground between trial lawyers and Illinois business interests

interests. Ed Murnane, president of the ICJL, says he's been using direct mail, telephone calls and meeting with newspaper editorial boards to try to drum up opposition to the bill.
   "It's (SB 1296) a typical trial lawyer effort to change the existing law," said Murnane. "What this basically would do is allow them to dismiss or settle participants in a lawsuit from the suit before trial so that the only defendants who would be left would be those with the greatest resources. Basically what it means is that instead of assessing damages and costs based on responsibility, the highest level of responsibility would be assessed on the defendant with the most money."
   But Bruce Kohen, president elect of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, says characterizing SB 1296 as a radical change is totally false. Kohen says the bill simply restores the law that has been in existence and has been used in Illinois since 1986. It was an odd-ball decision by the 1st Appellate Court in Cook County that threw things out of kilter, according to Kohen, and is necessitating passage of this bill.
   "Basically what happened," said Kohen, "is they got an opportunity to try to take the system and get an unfair advantage and they're trying to use this legal loophole in order to skirt their responsibilities from paying their fair share when they hurt or kill people - and that's literally what it comes down to. They want to exploit this legal loophole that's been created, and they want to try to blame people who aren't even part of the case any more, who aren't in the courtroom, who aren't represented and who are no longer even there to defend themselves."
   Murnane cites a case in Madison County in which a motorist ran off the road and into a ditch. While trying to get his car out of the ditch, the motorist was struck by a drunk driver. The motorist's family is suing not only the drunk driver but Wal-Mart because that's where the liquor was purchased. Murnane says that eventually the plaintiff's attorney will settle with the drunk driver so he can focus on Wal-Mart - not because Wal-Mart bears most of the responsibility, but because it has the greatest ability to pay.

   "Under current law," said Murnane, "you have to be at least 25 percent responsible for the damages before you can be held totally accountable. Under SB 1296, if you are 1 percent responsible, you could be held totally accountable."
   Kohen rejects that argument.
   "It is a common tactic to come up with extreme or rare hypothetical examples that are out of the mainstream to try to attack something that's been a mainstay of the civil justice system for the last 20 years," Kohen said. "That's been working for the last 20 years. And, quite frankly, it hasn't been causing any problems."
   In fact, according to Kohen, the norm is the opposite of Murnane's description. Typically, Kohen says, the plaintiff settles with the minor party and goes to trial against the one primarily responsible. Further, Kohen says that when you settle with one of the parties, the court is required to rule that that settlement is in good faith. If the remaining defendants think that the settlement is not in good faith, they can ask the court to hold a hearing and they can object. The court would then have to hold a hearing and decide, according to Kohen, protecting all parties' interests.
   The bill, however, has garnered copious opposition including the city of Chicago, the Illinois Municipal League, the Illinois Association of Park Districts and the Illinois Risk Management Association. Local governments are often seen as "deep pockets" by plaintiff attorneys and brought into lawsuits, according to Murnane, explaining the strong governmental opposition. Despite the opposition, the bill has been moving quickly and quietly through the legislative process.
   "The overwhelmingly anti-business nature of this legislature has allowed this bill to advance virtually unnoticed," said Murnane. "But make no mistake - if this bill is enacted, it will be a dagger through the heart of Illinois employers and municipalities, and damage our state's ability to retain and attract good-paying jobs."

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