Bill Text: IL SB2889 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Reenacts 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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-19 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2889 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SB2889-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | March 9, 1995, added Part 21 to Article II of the Code of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Civil 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure are of vital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | concern to the people of this State, and legislative | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | action concerning these provisions is necessary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | (b) It is the purpose of this Act to reenact the provisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of the Code of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | Civil Procedure. This Act is intended to remove any questions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | as to the validity or content of those provisions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | (c) This Act is not intended to supersede any other Public | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 | Act. The reenacted material is shown as existing text (i.e., |
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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.
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4 | Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | ||||||
5 | reenacting and changing Part 21 of Article II as follows:
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6 | (735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading) | ||||||
7 | Part 21. Product Liability | ||||||
8 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2101) | ||||||
9 | Sec. 2-2101. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the | ||||||
10 | terms listed have the following meanings: | ||||||
11 | "Clear and convincing evidence" means that measure or | ||||||
12 | degree of proof that will produce in the mind of the trier of | ||||||
13 | fact a high degree of certainty as to the truth of the | ||||||
14 | allegations sought to be established. This evidence requires a | ||||||
15 | greater degree of persuasion than is necessary to meet the | ||||||
16 | preponderance of the evidence standard. | ||||||
17 | "Harm" means (i) damage to property other than the product | ||||||
18 | itself; (ii) personal physical injury, illness, or death; | ||||||
19 | (iii) mental anguish or emotional harm to the extent | ||||||
20 | recognized by applicable law; (iv) any loss of consortium or | ||||||
21 | services; or (v) other loss deriving from any type of harm | ||||||
22 | described in item (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv). | ||||||
23 | "Manufacturer" means (i) any person who is engaged in a |
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1 | business to design or formulate and to produce, create, make, | ||||||
2 | or construct any product or component part of a product; (ii) a | ||||||
3 | product seller with respect to all component parts of a | ||||||
4 | product or a component part of a product that is created or | ||||||
5 | affected when, before placing the product in the stream of | ||||||
6 | commerce, the product seller designs or formulates and | ||||||
7 | produces, creates, makes, or constructs an aspect of a product | ||||||
8 | or a component part of a product made by another; or (iii) any | ||||||
9 | product seller not described in (ii) that holds itself out as a | ||||||
10 | manufacturer to the user of the product. | ||||||
11 | "Product liability action" means a civil action brought on | ||||||
12 | any theory against a manufacturer or product seller for harm | ||||||
13 | caused by a product. | ||||||
14 | "Product seller" means a person who, in the course of a | ||||||
15 | business conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes, | ||||||
16 | leases, installs, prepares, blends, packages, labels, markets, | ||||||
17 | repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in placing a | ||||||
18 | product in the stream of commerce. | ||||||
19 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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20 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2102) | ||||||
21 | Sec. 2-2102. Effect on other laws. Except as may be | ||||||
22 | provided by other laws, any civil action that conforms to the | ||||||
23 | definition of a product liability action as defined in Section | ||||||
24 | 2-2101 of this Part shall be governed by the provisions of this | ||||||
25 | Part. |
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1 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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2 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2103) | ||||||
3 | Sec. 2-2103. Federal and State standards; presumption. In | ||||||
4 | a product liability action, a product or product component | ||||||
5 | shall be presumed to be reasonably safe if the aspect of the | ||||||
6 | product or product component that allegedly caused the harm | ||||||
7 | was specified or required, or if the aspect is specifically | ||||||
8 | exempted for particular applications or users, by a federal or | ||||||
9 | State statute or regulation promulgated by an agency of the | ||||||
10 | federal or State government responsible for the safety or use | ||||||
11 | of the product before the product was distributed into the | ||||||
12 | stream of commerce. | ||||||
13 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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14 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2104) | ||||||
15 | Sec. 2-2104. No practical and feasible alternative design; | ||||||
16 | presumption. If the design of a product or product component | ||||||
17 | is in issue in a product liability action, the design shall be | ||||||
18 | presumed to be reasonably safe unless, at the time the product | ||||||
19 | left the control of the manufacturer, a practical and | ||||||
20 | technically feasible alternative design was available that | ||||||
21 | would have prevented the harm without significantly impairing | ||||||
22 | the usefulness, desirability, or marketability of the product. | ||||||
23 | An alternative design is practical and feasible if the | ||||||
24 | technical, medical, or scientific knowledge relating to safety |
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1 | of the alternative design was, at the time the product left the | ||||||
2 | control of the manufacturer, available and developed for | ||||||
3 | commercial use and acceptable in the marketplace. | ||||||
4 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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5 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2105) | ||||||
6 | Sec. 2-2105. Changes in design or warning; | ||||||
7 | inadmissibility. When measures are taken which, if taken | ||||||
8 | previously, would have made an event less likely to occur, | ||||||
9 | evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove | ||||||
10 | a defect in a product, negligence, or culpable conduct in | ||||||
11 | connection with the event. In a product liability action | ||||||
12 | brought under any theory or doctrine, if the feasibility of a | ||||||
13 | design change or change in warnings is not controverted, then | ||||||
14 | a subsequent design change or change in warnings shall not be | ||||||
15 | admissible into evidence. This rule does not require the | ||||||
16 | exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for | ||||||
17 | another purpose such as proving ownership, control, or | ||||||
18 | impeachment. | ||||||
19 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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20 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106) | ||||||
21 | Sec. 2-2106. Provision of written warnings to users of | ||||||
22 | product; nonliability. | ||||||
23 | (a) The warning, instructing, or labeling of a product or | ||||||
24 | specific product component shall be deemed to be adequate if |
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1 | pamphlets, booklets, labels, or other written warnings were | ||||||
2 | provided that gave adequate notice to reasonably anticipated | ||||||
3 | users or knowledgeable intermediaries of the material risks of | ||||||
4 | injury, death, or property damage connected with the | ||||||
5 | reasonably anticipated use of the product and instructions as | ||||||
6 | to the reasonably anticipated uses, applications, or | ||||||
7 | limitations of the product anticipated by the defendant. | ||||||
8 | (b) In the defense of a product liability action, | ||||||
9 | warnings, instructions or labeling shall be deemed to be | ||||||
10 | adequate if the warnings, instructions or labels furnished | ||||||
11 | with the product were in conformity with the generally | ||||||
12 | recognized standards in the industry at the time the product | ||||||
13 | was distributed into the stream of commerce. | ||||||
14 | (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a defendant | ||||||
15 | shall not be liable for failure to warn of material risks that | ||||||
16 | were obvious to a reasonably prudent product user and material | ||||||
17 | risks that were a matter of common knowledge to persons in the | ||||||
18 | same position as or similar positions to that of the plaintiff | ||||||
19 | in a product liability action. | ||||||
20 | (d) In any product liability action brought against a | ||||||
21 | manufacturer or product seller for harm allegedly caused by a | ||||||
22 | failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions, a | ||||||
23 | defendant manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable | ||||||
24 | if, at the time the product left the control of the | ||||||
25 | manufacturer, the knowledge of the danger that caused the harm | ||||||
26 | was not reasonably available or obtainable in light of |
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1 | existing scientific, technical, or medical information. | ||||||
2 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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3 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5) | ||||||
4 | Sec. 2-2106.5. Inherent characteristics of products; | ||||||
5 | nonliability. In a product liability action, a manufacturer or | ||||||
6 | product seller shall not be liable for harm allegedly caused | ||||||
7 | by a product if the alleged harm was caused by an inherent | ||||||
8 | characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the | ||||||
9 | product that cannot be eliminated without substantially | ||||||
10 | compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and | ||||||
11 | which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary | ||||||
12 | knowledge common to the community. | ||||||
13 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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14 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2107) | ||||||
15 | Sec. 2-2107. Punitive damages. In a product liability | ||||||
16 | action, punitive damages shall not be awarded against a | ||||||
17 | manufacturer or product seller if the conduct of the defendant | ||||||
18 | manufacturer, seller, or reseller that allegedly caused the | ||||||
19 | harm was approved by or was in compliance with standards set | ||||||
20 | forth in an applicable federal or State statute or in a | ||||||
21 | regulation or other administrative action promulgated by an | ||||||
22 | agency of the federal or State government responsible for the | ||||||
23 | safety or use of the product, which statute or regulation was | ||||||
24 | in effect at the time of the manufacturer's or product |
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1 | seller's alleged misconduct, unless the plaintiff proves by | ||||||
2 | clear and convincing evidence that the manufacturer or product | ||||||
3 | seller intentionally withheld from or misrepresented to | ||||||
4 | Congress, the State legislature, or the relevant federal or | ||||||
5 | State agency material information relative to the safety or | ||||||
6 | use of the product that would or could have resulted in a | ||||||
7 | changed decision relative to the law, standard, or other | ||||||
8 | administrative action. | ||||||
9 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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10 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2108) | ||||||
11 | Sec. 2-2108. No cause of action created. Nothing in this | ||||||
12 | Part shall be construed to create a cause of action. | ||||||
13 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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14 | (735 ILCS 5/2-2109) | ||||||
15 | Sec. 2-2109. This amendatory Act of the 103rd General | ||||||
16 | Assembly 1995 adding Part 21 to the Code of Civil Procedure | ||||||
17 | applies to causes of action accruing on or after its effective | ||||||
18 | date. | ||||||
19 | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .)
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