The House Judiciary Subcommittee discussed a new proposal, HB 732, that would drastically reform NC’s tort system. If the bill becomes law, the contributory negligence doctrine would change to the comparative fault doctrine. Basically, this new regulation places a percentage system on the defendant’s responsibility for damages. This means that if a group of individuals are held responsible for a damage then the court could assign an amount or percentage of responsibility to each individual defendant. The proposal would also reform the issue of joint liability. Under the new bill, if there is more than one party at fault, one tortfeasor cannot be held liable for the entire group’s damages. Rather, the cost would be spread evenly depending on which party committed the greater harm.
Daren Bakst’s article continues the tort reform discussion here: Two Sensible Tort Reforms
