Bill Text: MI HB6517 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Torts; product liability; cap on damages; eliminate if injury or death resulted from use of a taser. Amends sec. 2946a of 1961 PA 236 (MCL 600.2946a).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-10-06 - Printed Bill Filed 09/30/2010 [HB6517 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HB6517-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 6517
September 29, 2010, Introduced by Rep. Lipton and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1961 PA 236, entitled
"Revised judicature act of 1961,"
by amending section 2946a (MCL 600.2946a), as added by 1995 PA 249.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2946a. (1) In an action for product liability, the total
amount of damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed
$280,000.00, unless the defect in the product caused either the
person's death or permanent loss of a vital bodily function, in
which case the total amount of damages for noneconomic loss shall
not
exceed $500,000.00. On the effective date of the amendatory act
that
added this section March 28,
1996, the state treasurer shall
adjust the limitations set forth in this subsection so that the
limitations are equal to the limitations provided in section 1483.
After that date, the state treasurer shall adjust the limitations
set forth in this subsection at the end of each calendar year so
that they continue to be equal to the limitations provided in
section 1483.
(2) In awarding damages in a product liability action, the
trier of fact shall itemize damages into economic and noneconomic
losses. Neither the court nor counsel for a party shall inform the
jury of the limitations under subsection (1). The court shall
adjust an award of noneconomic loss to conform to the limitations
under subsection (1).
(3) The limitation on damages under subsection (1) for death
or permanent loss of a vital bodily function does not apply to a
defendant
if the trier of fact determines by a perponderance
preponderance of the evidence that the death or loss was the result
of the defendant's gross negligence, or if the court finds that the
matters stated in section 2949a are true.
(4) The limitations on damages under subsection (1) do not
apply if the product was a portable device that uses electro-
muscular disruption technology.
(5) (4)
If damages for economic loss cannot
readily be
ascertained
by the trier of fact, then the trier of fact shall
calculate damages for economic loss based on an amount that is
equal to the state average median family income as reported in the
immediately preceding federal decennial census and adjusted by the
state treasurer in the same manner as provided in subsection (1).
(6) As used in this section, "device that uses electro-
muscular disruption technology" means that term as defined in
section 224a of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.224a.
