Full Text of SB2889 103rd General Assembly
SB2889 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 SB2889 Introduced 1/24/2024, by Sen. Jil Tracy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2101 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2102 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2103 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2104 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2105 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2106 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2107 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2108 | | 735 ILCS 5/2-2109 | |
| Reenacts and changes various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to product liability actions that were added by Public Act 89-7, which was held to be void in its entirety by the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). Effective immediately. |
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 1. Purpose. | 5 | | (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that: | 6 | | (1) "An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to civil | 7 | | actions, which may be referred to as the Civil Justice | 8 | | Reform Amendments of 1995", Public Act 89-7, approved | 9 | | March 9, 1995, added Part 21 to Article II of the Code of | 10 | | Civil Procedure. Public Act 89-7 also contained other | 11 | | provisions. | 12 | | (2) In Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 | 13 | | (1997), the Illinois Supreme Court held that Public Act | 14 | | 89-7 was void in its entirety. | 15 | | (3) The provisions of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 | 16 | | to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure are of vital | 17 | | concern to the people of this State, and legislative | 18 | | action concerning these provisions is necessary. | 19 | | (b) It is the purpose of this Act to reenact the provisions | 20 | | of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of the Code of | 21 | | Civil Procedure. This Act is intended to remove any questions | 22 | | as to the validity or content of those provisions. | 23 | | (c) This Act is not intended to supersede any other Public | 24 | | Act. The reenacted material is shown as existing text (i.e., |
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| 1 | | without striking or underscoring) except for the changes made | 2 | | by this Act to Section 2-2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, | 3 | | which are shown with striking and underscoring. | 4 | | Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | 5 | | reenacting and changing Part 21 of Article II as follows: | 6 | | (735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading) | 7 | | Part 21. Product Liability | 8 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2101) | 9 | | Sec. 2-2101. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the | 10 | | terms listed have the following meanings: | 11 | | "Clear and convincing evidence" means that measure or | 12 | | degree of proof that will produce in the mind of the trier of | 13 | | fact a high degree of certainty as to the truth of the | 14 | | allegations sought to be established. This evidence requires a | 15 | | greater degree of persuasion than is necessary to meet the | 16 | | preponderance of the evidence standard. | 17 | | "Harm" means (i) damage to property other than the product | 18 | | itself; (ii) personal physical injury, illness, or death; | 19 | | (iii) mental anguish or emotional harm to the extent | 20 | | recognized by applicable law; (iv) any loss of consortium or | 21 | | services; or (v) other loss deriving from any type of harm | 22 | | described in item (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv). | 23 | | "Manufacturer" means (i) any person who is engaged in a |
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| 1 | | business to design or formulate and to produce, create, make, | 2 | | or construct any product or component part of a product; (ii) a | 3 | | product seller with respect to all component parts of a | 4 | | product or a component part of a product that is created or | 5 | | affected when, before placing the product in the stream of | 6 | | commerce, the product seller designs or formulates and | 7 | | produces, creates, makes, or constructs an aspect of a product | 8 | | or a component part of a product made by another; or (iii) any | 9 | | product seller not described in (ii) that holds itself out as a | 10 | | manufacturer to the user of the product. | 11 | | "Product liability action" means a civil action brought on | 12 | | any theory against a manufacturer or product seller for harm | 13 | | caused by a product. | 14 | | "Product seller" means a person who, in the course of a | 15 | | business conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes, | 16 | | leases, installs, prepares, blends, packages, labels, markets, | 17 | | repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in placing a | 18 | | product in the stream of commerce. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 20 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2102) | 21 | | Sec. 2-2102. Effect on other laws. Except as may be | 22 | | provided by other laws, any civil action that conforms to the | 23 | | definition of a product liability action as defined in Section | 24 | | 2-2101 of this Part shall be governed by the provisions of this | 25 | | Part. |
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 2 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2103) | 3 | | Sec. 2-2103. Federal and State standards; presumption. In | 4 | | a product liability action, a product or product component | 5 | | shall be presumed to be reasonably safe if the aspect of the | 6 | | product or product component that allegedly caused the harm | 7 | | was specified or required, or if the aspect is specifically | 8 | | exempted for particular applications or users, by a federal or | 9 | | State statute or regulation promulgated by an agency of the | 10 | | federal or State government responsible for the safety or use | 11 | | of the product before the product was distributed into the | 12 | | stream of commerce. | 13 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 14 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2104) | 15 | | Sec. 2-2104. No practical and feasible alternative design; | 16 | | presumption. If the design of a product or product component | 17 | | is in issue in a product liability action, the design shall be | 18 | | presumed to be reasonably safe unless, at the time the product | 19 | | left the control of the manufacturer, a practical and | 20 | | technically feasible alternative design was available that | 21 | | would have prevented the harm without significantly impairing | 22 | | the usefulness, desirability, or marketability of the product. | 23 | | An alternative design is practical and feasible if the | 24 | | technical, medical, or scientific knowledge relating to safety |
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| 1 | | of the alternative design was, at the time the product left the | 2 | | control of the manufacturer, available and developed for | 3 | | commercial use and acceptable in the marketplace. | 4 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 5 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2105) | 6 | | Sec. 2-2105. Changes in design or warning; | 7 | | inadmissibility. When measures are taken which, if taken | 8 | | previously, would have made an event less likely to occur, | 9 | | evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove | 10 | | a defect in a product, negligence, or culpable conduct in | 11 | | connection with the event. In a product liability action | 12 | | brought under any theory or doctrine, if the feasibility of a | 13 | | design change or change in warnings is not controverted, then | 14 | | a subsequent design change or change in warnings shall not be | 15 | | admissible into evidence. This rule does not require the | 16 | | exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for | 17 | | another purpose such as proving ownership, control, or | 18 | | impeachment. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 20 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106) | 21 | | Sec. 2-2106. Provision of written warnings to users of | 22 | | product; nonliability. | 23 | | (a) The warning, instructing, or labeling of a product or | 24 | | specific product component shall be deemed to be adequate if |
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| 1 | | pamphlets, booklets, labels, or other written warnings were | 2 | | provided that gave adequate notice to reasonably anticipated | 3 | | users or knowledgeable intermediaries of the material risks of | 4 | | injury, death, or property damage connected with the | 5 | | reasonably anticipated use of the product and instructions as | 6 | | to the reasonably anticipated uses, applications, or | 7 | | limitations of the product anticipated by the defendant. | 8 | | (b) In the defense of a product liability action, | 9 | | warnings, instructions or labeling shall be deemed to be | 10 | | adequate if the warnings, instructions or labels furnished | 11 | | with the product were in conformity with the generally | 12 | | recognized standards in the industry at the time the product | 13 | | was distributed into the stream of commerce. | 14 | | (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a defendant | 15 | | shall not be liable for failure to warn of material risks that | 16 | | were obvious to a reasonably prudent product user and material | 17 | | risks that were a matter of common knowledge to persons in the | 18 | | same position as or similar positions to that of the plaintiff | 19 | | in a product liability action. | 20 | | (d) In any product liability action brought against a | 21 | | manufacturer or product seller for harm allegedly caused by a | 22 | | failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions, a | 23 | | defendant manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable | 24 | | if, at the time the product left the control of the | 25 | | manufacturer, the knowledge of the danger that caused the harm | 26 | | was not reasonably available or obtainable in light of |
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| 1 | | existing scientific, technical, or medical information. | 2 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 3 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5) | 4 | | Sec. 2-2106.5. Inherent characteristics of products; | 5 | | nonliability. In a product liability action, a manufacturer or | 6 | | product seller shall not be liable for harm allegedly caused | 7 | | by a product if the alleged harm was caused by an inherent | 8 | | characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the | 9 | | product that cannot be eliminated without substantially | 10 | | compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and | 11 | | which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary | 12 | | knowledge common to the community. | 13 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 14 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2107) | 15 | | Sec. 2-2107. Punitive damages. In a product liability | 16 | | action, punitive damages shall not be awarded against a | 17 | | manufacturer or product seller if the conduct of the defendant | 18 | | manufacturer, seller, or reseller that allegedly caused the | 19 | | harm was approved by or was in compliance with standards set | 20 | | forth in an applicable federal or State statute or in a | 21 | | regulation or other administrative action promulgated by an | 22 | | agency of the federal or State government responsible for the | 23 | | safety or use of the product, which statute or regulation was | 24 | | in effect at the time of the manufacturer's or product |
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| 1 | | seller's alleged misconduct, unless the plaintiff proves by | 2 | | clear and convincing evidence that the manufacturer or product | 3 | | seller intentionally withheld from or misrepresented to | 4 | | Congress, the State legislature, or the relevant federal or | 5 | | State agency material information relative to the safety or | 6 | | use of the product that would or could have resulted in a | 7 | | changed decision relative to the law, standard, or other | 8 | | administrative action. | 9 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 10 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2108) | 11 | | Sec. 2-2108. No cause of action created. Nothing in this | 12 | | Part shall be construed to create a cause of action. | 13 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 14 | | (735 ILCS 5/2-2109) | 15 | | Sec. 2-2109. This amendatory Act of the 103rd General | 16 | | Assembly 1995 adding Part 21 to the Code of Civil Procedure | 17 | | applies to causes of action accruing on or after its effective | 18 | | date. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95 .) | 20 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 21 | | becoming law. |
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