|
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB2223 Introduced , by Rep. Dwight Kay SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
|
| 735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2101 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2102 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2103 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2104 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2105 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2106 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2107 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2108 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2109 | |
| Re-enacts and changes various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to product
liability actions that
were added
by Public Act 89-7, which was held to be void in its entirety by the Illinois
Supreme
Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). Effective
immediately.
|
| |
| | A BILL FOR |
|
|
| | HB2223 | | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law.
|
2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
|
3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
|
4 | | Section 1. Purpose.
|
5 | | (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
|
6 | | (1) "An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to civil
|
7 | | actions, which may be referred to as the Civil Justice |
8 | | Reform
Amendments of 1995", Public Act 89-7, approved March |
9 | | 9, 1995, added Part 21 to Article II of the Code of Civil |
10 | | Procedure. Public Act 89-7 also contained other
|
11 | | provisions.
|
12 | | (2) In
Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 |
13 | | (1997), the Illinois Supreme
Court held
that Public Act |
14 | | 89-7 was void in its entirety.
|
15 | | (3) The provisions of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to |
16 | | Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure are of vital |
17 | | concern to the people of this State, and legislative
action
|
18 | | concerning these provisions is necessary.
|
19 | | (b) It is the purpose of this Act to re-enact
the |
20 | | provisions of
Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of |
21 | | the Code of Civil Procedure.
This Act is intended to remove any |
22 | | questions as to the validity or
content of
those provisions.
|
23 | | (c) This Act is not intended to
supersede any other Public |
24 | | Act. The re-enacted material is shown as existing
text (i.e., |
|
| | HB2223 | - 2 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | without striking or underscoring) except for the changes made |
2 | | by this Act to Section 2-2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, |
3 | | which are shown with striking and underscoring.
|
4 | | Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by |
5 | | re-enacting the heading of Part 21 of Article II and Sections |
6 | | 2-2101, 2-2102, 2-2103, 2-2104, 2-2105, 2-2106, 2-2106.5, |
7 | | 2-2107, and 2-2108 and by re-enacting and changing Section |
8 | | 2-2109 as follows:
|
9 | | (735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading) |
10 | | PART 21. PRODUCT LIABILITY
|
11 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2101)
|
12 | | Sec. 2-2101. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the |
13 | | terms listed
have
the following meanings:
|
14 | | "Clear and convincing evidence" means that measure or |
15 | | degree of proof that
will produce in the mind of the trier of |
16 | | fact a high degree of certainty as to
the truth of the |
17 | | allegations sought to be established.
This evidence requires
a |
18 | | greater degree of persuasion than is necessary to meet the |
19 | | preponderance of
the evidence standard.
|
20 | | "Harm" means (i) damage to property other than the product |
21 | | itself; (ii)
personal physical injury, illness, or death; (iii) |
22 | | mental anguish or emotional
harm to
the extent recognized by |
23 | | applicable law; (iv) any loss of consortium or
services; or (v) |
|
| | HB2223 | - 3 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | other loss deriving from any type of harm described in item
|
2 | | (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv).
|
3 | | "Manufacturer" means (i) any person who is engaged in a |
4 | | business to design or
formulate and to produce, create, make, |
5 | | or construct any product or component
part of a product; (ii) a |
6 | | product seller with respect to all component parts of
a product |
7 | | or a component part of a product that is created or affected |
8 | | when,
before placing the product in the stream of commerce, the |
9 | | product seller
designs
or formulates and produces, creates, |
10 | | makes, or constructs an aspect of a
product or a component part |
11 | | of a product made by another; or (iii) any product
seller not |
12 | | described in (ii) that holds itself out as a manufacturer to |
13 | | the
user of the product.
|
14 | | "Product liability action" means a civil action brought on |
15 | | any theory against
a manufacturer or product seller for harm |
16 | | caused by a product.
|
17 | | "Product seller" means a person who, in the course of a |
18 | | business conducted
for that purpose, sells, distributes, |
19 | | leases, installs, prepares, blends,
packages, labels, markets, |
20 | | repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in
placing a |
21 | | product in the stream of commerce.
|
22 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
23 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2102)
|
24 | | Sec. 2-2102. Effect on other laws. Except as may be |
25 | | provided by other
laws, any civil action that conforms to the |
|
| | HB2223 | - 4 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | definition of a product liability
action as defined in Section |
2 | | 2-2101 of this Part shall be governed by the
provisions of this |
3 | | Part.
|
4 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
5 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2103)
|
6 | | Sec. 2-2103. Federal and State standards; presumption. In a |
7 | | product
liability action, a product or product component shall |
8 | | be presumed to be
reasonably safe if the aspect of the product |
9 | | or product component that
allegedly caused the harm was |
10 | | specified or required, or if the aspect is
specifically |
11 | | exempted for particular applications or users, by a federal or
|
12 | | State statute or regulation promulgated by an agency of the |
13 | | federal or State
government responsible for the safety or use |
14 | | of the product before the product
was distributed into the |
15 | | stream of commerce.
|
16 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
17 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2104)
|
18 | | Sec. 2-2104. No practical and feasible alternative design; |
19 | | presumption.
If the design of a product or product component |
20 | | is in issue in a product
liability action, the design shall be |
21 | | presumed to be reasonably safe
unless, at the time the product |
22 | | left the control of the manufacturer, a
practical and |
23 | | technically feasible alternative design was available that |
24 | | would
have prevented the harm without significantly impairing |
|
| | HB2223 | - 5 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | the usefulness,
desirability, or marketability of the product. |
2 | | An alternative design is
practical and feasible if the |
3 | | technical, medical, or scientific knowledge
relating to safety |
4 | | of the alternative design was, at the time the product left
the |
5 | | control of the manufacturer, available and developed for |
6 | | commercial use and
acceptable in the marketplace.
|
7 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
8 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2105)
|
9 | | Sec. 2-2105. Changes in design or warning; |
10 | | inadmissibility. When measures
are taken which, if taken |
11 | | previously, would have made an event
less likely to occur, |
12 | | evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to
prove |
13 | | a defect in a product, negligence, or culpable conduct in |
14 | | connection with
the event. In a product liability action |
15 | | brought under any theory or doctrine,
if the feasibility of a |
16 | | design change or change in warnings is not
controverted, then a |
17 | | subsequent design change or change in warnings shall not
be |
18 | | admissible into evidence. This rule does not require the |
19 | | exclusion of
evidence of subsequent measures when offered for |
20 | | another purpose such as
proving ownership, control, or |
21 | | impeachment.
|
22 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
23 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106)
|
24 | | Sec. 2-2106. Provision of written warnings to users of |
|
| | HB2223 | - 6 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | product;
nonliability. |
2 | | (a) The warning, instructing, or labeling of a product or |
3 | | specific product
component shall be deemed to be adequate if |
4 | | pamphlets, booklets, labels,
or other written warnings were |
5 | | provided that gave adequate notice to reasonably
anticipated |
6 | | users or knowledgeable intermediaries of the material risks of
|
7 | | injury, death, or property damage connected with the reasonably |
8 | | anticipated use
of the product and instructions as to the |
9 | | reasonably anticipated uses,
applications, or limitations of |
10 | | the product
anticipated by the defendant.
|
11 | | (b) In the defense of a product liability action, warnings, |
12 | | instructions or
labeling shall be deemed to be adequate if the |
13 | | warnings, instructions or labels
furnished with the product |
14 | | were in conformity with the generally recognized
standards in |
15 | | the industry at the time the product was distributed into the
|
16 | | stream of commerce.
|
17 | | (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a defendant |
18 | | shall not be liable
for failure to warn of material risks that |
19 | | were obvious to a reasonably prudent
product user and material |
20 | | risks that were a matter of common knowledge to
persons in the |
21 | | same position as or similar positions to that of the plaintiff
|
22 | | in a product liability action.
|
23 | | (d) In any product liability action brought against a |
24 | | manufacturer or
product seller for harm allegedly caused by a |
25 | | failure to provide adequate
warnings or instructions, a |
26 | | defendant manufacturer or product seller shall not
be liable |
|
| | HB2223 | - 7 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | if, at the time the product left the control of the |
2 | | manufacturer, the
knowledge of the danger that caused the harm |
3 | | was not reasonably available or
obtainable in light of existing |
4 | | scientific, technical, or medical
information.
|
5 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
6 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5)
|
7 | | Sec. 2-2106.5. Inherent characteristics of products; |
8 | | nonliability. In a
product liability action, a manufacturer or |
9 | | product seller shall not be liable
for harm allegedly caused by |
10 | | a product if the alleged harm was caused by an
inherent |
11 | | characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the |
12 | | product
that cannot be eliminated without substantially |
13 | | compromising the product's
usefulness or desirability and |
14 | | which is recognized by the ordinary person with
the ordinary |
15 | | knowledge common to the community.
|
16 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
17 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2107)
|
18 | | Sec. 2-2107. Punitive damages. In a product liability |
19 | | action, punitive damages shall not be awarded
against a |
20 | | manufacturer or product seller if the conduct of the defendant
|
21 | | manufacturer, seller, or reseller that allegedly caused the |
22 | | harm was approved
by or was in compliance with standards set |
23 | | forth in an applicable federal or
State statute or in a |
24 | | regulation or other administrative action promulgated by
an |
|
| | HB2223 | - 8 - | LRB098 05538 HEP 35575 b |
|
|
1 | | agency of the federal or State government responsible for the |
2 | | safety or use
of the
product, which statute or regulation was |
3 | | in effect at the time of the
manufacturer's or product seller's |
4 | | alleged misconduct, unless the plaintiff
proves by clear and |
5 | | convincing evidence that the manufacturer or product seller
|
6 | | intentionally withheld from or misrepresented to Congress, the |
7 | | State
legislature, or the relevant federal or State agency |
8 | | material information
relative to the safety or use of the |
9 | | product that would or could have resulted
in a
changed decision |
10 | | relative to the law, standard, or other administrative
action.
|
11 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
12 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2108)
|
13 | | Sec. 2-2108. No cause of action created. Nothing in this |
14 | | Part shall be
construed to create a cause of action.
|
15 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
16 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2109)
|
17 | | Sec. 2-2109. This amendatory Act of the 98th General |
18 | | Assembly
1995 adding Part 21 to the Code
of Civil Procedure |
19 | | applies to causes of action accruing on or after its
effective |
20 | | date.
|
21 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
|
22 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
23 | | becoming law.
|