Attorney General No.
SA85RF0010
Secretary of State No.
364
Description
MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS LIABILITY FOR TORT DAMAGES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Under existing law, tort damages awarded a plaintiff in court against multiple defendants may all be collected from one defendant. A defendant paying all the damages may seek equitable reimbursement from other defendants. Under this amendment, this rule continues to apply to "economic damages," defined as objectively verifiable monetary losses, including medical expenses, earnings loss, and others specified; however, for "non-economic damages," defined as subjective, non-monetary losses, including pain, suffering, and others specified, each defendant's responsibility to pay plaintiff's damages would be limited in direct proportion to that defendant's percentage of fault. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Enactment of this measure would eliminate the responsibility of the state and local governments to pay for non-economic damages attributable to the actions of others. Preliminary data indicate that savings to state and local governments could be several millions of dollars annually, but may fluctuate significantly annually, depending on size of claims paid.
Proponents
Gene Livingston, 1130 K Street, Suite 250, Sacramento, California 95814
Date
10-4-1985
Document Type
Initiative
Qualified
Qualified
Recommended Citation
Multiple Defendants Liability For Tort Damages California Initiative 364 (1985).
https://repository.uclawsf.edu/ca_ballot_inits/529