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1996 Amendments to Michigan Tort Law

December 01, 1996-On March 28, 1996 important changes to Michigan tort law will go into effect. The two bills that implemented these changes are House Bill No. 4508 and Senate Bill No. 344. Through these two Bills, the legislature has enacted changes to Michigan tort law that represent progress for the defense bar in this State.

Some of the significant changes include the following: The statute eliminates joint liability in all suits seeking damages for personal injury, property damage or wrongful death. (Sec. 2956; to be known as MCL 600.2956.) Fault will be apportioned at trial and a defendant will only be liable for its percentage share of the damages sustained by the plaintiff. This includes apportionment of fault to nonparties by the trier of fact, although any apportionment to a nonparty cannot be used as evidence in a later proceeding against that nonparty. If the trier of fact determines the plaintiff's fault exceeds the total fault of all the defendants, then the plaintiff is barred from recovering noneconomic damages and his damages will be limited to only that percentage of the economic damages caused by the defendants' conduct. Joint liability has been preserved only for medical malpractice claims when the plaintiff is without fault and other cases involving criminal activity.

Specific changes have been made to the laws governing product liability claims: A) Noneconomic damage awards are now subject to a cap of $250,000 for all cases except those involving death or permanent loss of a vital body function; in the latter cases the cap is $500,000 (This change is consistent with the noneconomic damage caps previously set for medical malpractice claims.); B) Compliance with federal or state law gives rise to a presumption that a product is not defective; C) No liability extends to a manufacturer for products that are misused or altered; D) The user of a product assumes the risks of which he is aware; E) No liability extends to a manufacturer for obvious risks, including those risks a user should have knowledge of due to his particular position. These Bills also codify standards for the admission of expert opinion and establish new venue guidelines to limit the current forum shopping done by plaintiffs' counsel.

The Senate Bill was enacted subsequent to the House Bill and in some areas modifies the House Bill. Together, these bills represent a "leveling of the playing field" for defendants in tort claims in this state. In fact, as a result of these changes, we expect a significant number of new case filings prior to the March 28 effective date. Rumors have recently surfaced that as many as 2000 new asbestos cases will be filed.

The new law will have a significant effect on the defense of product liability cases in Michigan.