State constitutions’ jury-trial and open-courts guarantees supply grounds to strike damage caps

Evidence

With the enactment of these tort reform statutes, the conflict over product liability law entered a new phase. The plaintiffs’ bar responded to this legislation by challenging many of these tort reform statutes as unconstitutional. They argued that statutory limits on punitive or noneconomic damages violated state constitutional guarantees of jury trial because they limited the discretion of jurors in awarding damages. They also contended that statutes of limitation and statutes of repose violated the “open courts” provisions of state constitutions, which guarantee that the courts be available for the redress of injuries. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3531

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that ‘open courts’ provisions guarantee court access for redress of injuries — a doctrinal term the course expects precise grasp of.