I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1503
To provide uniform standards for the awarding of compensatory and punitive
damages in a civil action against a volunteer or volunteer service organi-
zation, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 30, 1997
Mr. SOUDER (for himself, Mrs. EMERSON, and Mr. PACKARD) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide uniform standards for the awarding of compen-
satory and punitive damages in a civil action against
a volunteer or volunteer service organization, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Liability Reform for
Volunteer Services Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the increasingly litigious nature of the legal
profession in the United States has created an un-
necessary and ultimately harmful barrier between
the traditional desire of individuals to help other in-
dividuals and their ability to act on those desires;
(2) the cost of lawsuits, excessive, unpredict-
able, and often arbitrary damage awards, and unfair
allocations of liability have a direct and chilling ef-
fect on the spirit of volunteerism and the provision
of charitable service in the United States;
(3) arbitrary and capricious damage awards
against volunteers and charitable institutions have
contributed considerably to the high cost of liability
insurance, making it difficult and often impossible
for volunteers and volunteer service organizations to
be protected from liability as those volunteers and
many volunteer service organizations serve the public
without regard to receiving any personal or institu-
tional economic benefits from that service;
(4) as a result, volunteer service organizations
throughout the United States have been adversely
affected and often debilitated as volunteers have re-
fused to help because of a fear of frivolous lawsuits;
(5) without a resurgence in volunteerism, the
essential services that volunteer service organizations
provide, including crisis counseling, volunteer rescue
services, coaches and referees for sports activities of
children, and support for the elderly, will continue to
diminish;
(6) clarifying and limiting the personal liability
risks assumed by individuals and institutions who
volunteer to help others without benefit to them-
selves is an appropriate subject for Federal legisla-
tion because—
(A) of the national scope of the problems
created by the legitimate fears of volunteers
about frivolous, arbitrary, or capricious law-
suits; and
(B) the citizens of the United States de-
pend on, and the Federal Government expends
funds on, numerous social programs that de-
pend on the services of volunteers; and
(C) it is in the interest of the Federal Gov-
ernment to encourage the continued operation
of volunteer service organizations and contribu-
tions of volunteers because the Federal Govern-
ment lacks the capacity to carry out all of the
services provided by such organizations and vol-
unteers; and
(7) liability reform for volunteer service organi-
zations will promote the free flow of goods and serv-
ices, lessen burdens on interstate commerce and up-
hold constitutionally protected due process rights
and that liability reform is thus an appropriate use
of the powers contained in article I, section 8, clause
3 of the United States Constitution, and the four-
teenth amendment to the United States Constitu-
tion.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro-
vide protection from personal financial liability for volun-
teers and volunteer service organizations that provide vol-
unteer services that are conducted in good faith—
(1) to promote the interests of social service
program beneficiaries and taxpayers; and
(2) to sustain the availability of programs, vol-
unteer service organizations, and governmental enti-
ties that depend on volunteer contributions and serv-
ices; and
(3) to provide the protection by—
(A) placing reasonable limits on punitive
damages;
(B) ensuring the fair allocation of liability
in certain civil actions; and
(C) establishing greater fairness, rational-
ity, and predictability in the civil justice system
of the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CLAIMANT.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘claimant’’
means any person who asserts a claim for dam-
ages in an action covered by this Act and any
person on whose behalf such a claim is as-
serted.
(B) CLAIMANTS FOR CERTAIN CLAIMS.—If
a claim described in subparagraph (A) is as-
serted through or on behalf of—
(i) an estate, the term includes the
claimant’s decedent; or
(ii) a minor or incompetent, the term
includes the claimant’s legal guardian.
(2) CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘clear and
convincing evidence’’ is that measure or degree
of proof that will produce in the mind of the
trier of fact a firm belief or conviction as to the
truth of the allegations sought to be estab-
lished.
(B) DEGREE OF PROOF.—The degree of
proof required to satisfy the standard of clear
and convincing evidence shall be—
(i) greater than the degree of proof
required to meet the standard of prepon-
derance of the evidence; and
(ii) less than the degree of proof re-
quired to meet the standard of proof be-
yond a reasonable doubt.
(3) 
COMPENSATORY
DAMAGES.—The 
term
‘‘compensatory damages’’ means damages awarded
for economic and noneconomic loss.
(4) ECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic
loss’’ means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm
(including the loss of earnings or other benefits re-
lated to employment, medical expense loss, replace-
ment services loss, loss due to death, burial costs,
and loss of business or employment opportunities) to
the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under ap-
plicable State law.
(5) HARM.—The term ‘‘harm’’ means—
(A) any physical injury, illness, disease, or
death;
(B) damage to property; or
(C) economic loss, including any direct or
consequential economic loss.
(6) HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term
‘‘health care provider’’ means any person, organiza-
tion, or institution that—
(A) is engaged in the delivery of health
care services in a State for a fee other than a
nominal fee; and
(B) is required by the applicable laws (in-
cluding regulations) of a State to be licensed,
registered, or certified by the State to engage in
the delivery of health care services in the State.
(7) NONECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘non-
economic loss’’ means subjective, nonmonetary loss
resulting from harm, including pain, suffering, in-
convenience, mental suffering, emotional distress,
loss of society and companionship, loss of consor-
tium, injury to reputation, and humiliation.
(8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any
individual, corporation, company, association, firm,
partnership, society, joint stock company, or any
other entity (including any governmental entity).
(9) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘punitive
damages’’ means damages awarded against any per-
son to punish or deter that person or any other per-
son, from engaging in similar behavior in the future.
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any
State of the United States, the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Amer-
ican Samoa, and any other territory or possession of
the United States or any political subdivision of any
of the foregoing.
(11) VOLUNTEER
SERVICE
ORGANIZATION.—
The term ‘‘volunteer service organization’’ means a
not-for-profit organization (other than a health care
provider) organized and conducted for public benefit
and operated primarily for charitable, civic, edu-
cational, religious, welfare, or health purposes.
(12) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—The term ‘‘volun-
teer services’’ means services provided, in good faith,
without compensation or other pecuniary benefit
(other than reimbursement of expenses incurred in
providing such services) inuring to the benefit of the
service provider or any other person (other than the
recipient of the volunteer service), and within the
scope of the official functions and duties of the serv-
ice provider with a volunteer service organization or
governmental entity.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) COVERED CLAIMS.—Subject to paragraph
(2), this Act governs any claim for damages in any
civil action brought in any State or Federal court in
any case in which the claim relates to—
(A) volunteer services performed by the de-
fendant for a governmental entity or a volun-
teer service organization; or
(B) activities or services performed by a
volunteer service organization.
(2) ACTIONS EXCLUDED.—The limitations on
damages contained in this Act shall not apply in any
action described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para-
graph (1) in any case in which—
(A) the misconduct for which damages are
awarded —
(i) constitutes a crime of violence (as
that term is defined in section 16 of title
18, United States Code) or an act of inter-
national terrorism (as that term is defined
in section 2331(1) of title 18, United
States Code) for which the defendant has
been convicted in any court;
(ii) constitutes a hate crime (as that
term is used in the Hate Crime Statistics
Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note)) for which the
defendant has been convicted in any court;
(iii) involves a sexual offense, as de-
fined by applicable State law, for which the
defendant has been convicted in any court;
or
(iv) involves misconduct for which the
defendant has been found to have violated
a Federal or State civil rights law for
which the defendant has been convicted in
any court; or
(B) the defendant was found to be under
the influence (as determined pursuant to appli-
cable State law) of intoxicating alcohol or any
drug, at the time of the misconduct for which
damages are awarded and such influence was a
proximate cause of the harm that is the subject
of the action.
(b) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—This Act super-
sedes State law only to the extent that State law applies
to an issue covered by this Act. Any issue (including any
standard of liability) that is not governed by this Act shall
be governed by otherwise applicable State or Federal law.
(c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to—
(1) waive or affect any defense of sovereign im-
munity asserted by any State under any law;
(2) supersede or alter any other Federal law;
(3) waive or affect any defense of sovereign im-
munity asserted by the United States;
(4) affect the applicability of any provision of
chapter 97 of title 28, United States Code;
(5) preempt State choice-of-law rules with re-
spect to claims brought by a foreign nation or a citi-
zen of a foreign nation;
(6) affect the right of any court to transfer
venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to
dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or of a citizen
of a foreign nation on the ground of inconvenient
forum; or
(7) supersede or modify any statutory or com-
mon law, including any law providing for an action
to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a person to in-
stitute an action for civil damages or civil penalties,
cleanup costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery,
punitive damages, or any other form of relief for re-
mediation of the environment (as defined in section
101(8) of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601(8)).
SEC. 5. UNIFORM STANDARD FOR AWARD OF PUNITIVE
DAMAGES.
Punitive damages may, to the extent permitted by ap-
plicable State or Federal law, be awarded against a de-
fendant if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing
evidence that conduct carried out by the defendant with
a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety
of others was the proximate cause of the harm that is the
subject of the action in any civil action for a claim de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 4(a)(1).
SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON THE AMOUNT OF PUNITIVE
DAMAGES.
The amount of punitive damages that may be award-
ed in an action described in section 5 shall not exceed the
lesser of—
(1) twice the sum of the amounts awarded to
the claimant for economic loss and noneconomic loss;
or
(2) $250,000.
SEC. 7. PREEMPTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act does not—
(1) create a cause of action for punitive or com-
pensatory damages; or
(2) preempt or supersede any State or Federal
law to the extent that such law further limits the
amount of an award of punitive or compensatory
damages.
(b) REMITTITUR.—Nothing in this section shall mod-
ify or reduce the ability of courts to grant a remittitur.
SEC. 8. APPLICATION BY COURT.
The application of the limitation imposed by section
6 may not be disclosed to a jury by a court. Nothing in
this section authorizes the court to enter an award of pu-
nitive damages in excess of the initial award of punitive
damages awarded by a jury.
SEC. 9. BIFURCATION AT REQUEST OF ANY PARTY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of any party the
trier of fact, in any action for punitive damages that is
subject to this Act, shall consider in a separate proceeding,
held subsequent to the determination of the amount of
compensatory damages, whether punitive damages are to
be awarded for the harm that is the subject of the action
and the amount of the award.
(b) INADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE RELEVANT ONLY
TO A CLAIM OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES IN A PROCEEDING
CONCERNING COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—If any party
requests a separate proceeding under subsection (a), in a
proceeding to determine whether the claimant may be
awarded compensatory damages, any evidence, argument,
or contention that is relevant only to the claim of punitive
damages, as determined by applicable State law, shall be
inadmissible.
SEC. 10. LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.
(a) GENERAL RULE.—In any action described in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of section 4(a)(1) brought against
more than one defendant, the liability of each defendant
for compensatory damages shall be determined in accord-
ance with this section.
(b) AMOUNT
OF LIABILITY
FOR COMPENSATORY
DAMAGES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each defendant shall be lia-
ble only for the amount of compensatory damages
allocated by the trier of fact to the defendant in di-
rect proportion to the percentage of responsibility of
the defendant (determined in accordance with para-
graph (2)) for the harm to the claimant with respect
to which the defendant is found to be liable. The
court shall render a separate judgment against each
defendant in an amount determined pursuant to the
preceding sentence.
(2) PERCENTAGE
OF
RESPONSIBILITY.—For
purposes of determining the amount of compen-
satory damages allocated to a defendant under this
section, the trier of fact in an action described in
subsection (a) shall determine the percentage of re-
sponsibility of each person responsible for the harm
to the claimant, without regard to whether that per-
son is party to the action.
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