Governor Doyle unveiled his 2009-11 budget bill (Assembly Bill 75) last week. A number of provisions were inserted that would dramatically alter Wisconsin’s joint and several liability laws and Wisconsin’s auto insurance laws. Please see the bill analysis prepared by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau and the relevant pages from the budget bill.
Below is a synopsis of the proposed changes:
Contributory Negligence
Bill Section 3271 (Wis. Stat. § 895.045)
The bill eliminates the following:
- Provision regarding persons acting in concert;
- Provision that negligence of the plaintiff is compared to each person who was negligent separately;
- The provision that the liability of a person who is less than 51 percent negligent is limited to that person’ percentage of the total negligence;
- The provision that the liability of a person whose causal negligence is 51 percent or more is jointly and separately liable.
The bill adds the following:
- Allows an injured person to recover damages if that person’s negligence is not greater than the combined negligence of all the persons against whom recovery is sought;
- Provides that any person whose causal negligence is equal to or greater than the causal negligence of the person seeking recovery is jointly and severally liable for the damages award to the person seeking recovery.
Bill Section 3223 (Wis. Stat. § 805.13(4))
- Require that jurors be advised of the consequences of their findings so that jurors would know in advance the effect of their allocation of fault between plaintiff and defendant or between or among co-defendants.
Changes to Wisconsin’s Motor Vehicle Insurance Laws
Bill Sections 3147 through 3167:
- Makes changes to Wisconsin’s UM, UIM, and Medical Payments law.
Bill Sections 3156 through 3166 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(4))
- Substantially changes the requirements of UM and UIM coverage.
Bill Section 3168 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(f)
- This amendment prohibits policy anti-stacking provisions.
Bill Section 3169 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(g)
- This amendment prohibits policy anti-stacking provisions for uninsured motorist coverage if the insured is injured while not occupying a motor vehicle.
Bill Section 3170 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(h)
- This amendment prohibits policy anti-stacking provisions for medical payments coverage if the insured is injured while not occupying a motor vehicle.
Bill Section 3171 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(i)
- This amendment prohibits reducing clauses.
Bill Section 3172 (Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(j)
- This amendment prohibits drive-other-car provisions.