Civil Law

Because of litigation perceived as frivolous and because of the rising costs of insurance to protect producers and providers of goods and services from lawsuits, manufacturers, critics of tort law and politicians have called for sweeping tort reform that would limit liability and place caps on punitive damage awards. However, even bills for much more modest reforms have failed to become law. In 1996, a Republican-sponsored bill curbing product liability passed through Congress, but President Clinton vetoed it. In mid-1998, Congress debated a similar bill with compromises that Clinton would accept. The bill would limit punitive damage awards to $250,000 in cases against small businesses.