Source: http://www.atra.org/state/mississippi/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 00:27:47+00:00

Document:
Limits the amount a defendant can be required to pay to secure the right to appeal to 50 percent of an appellant’s net worth not to exceed $35 million.
By rule, the Mississippi Supreme Court imposed a limit on the amount that defendants can be required to post to secure a bond to appeal a punitive damages award to the lesser of: (1) 125 percent of the judgment; (2) 10 percent of the defendants net worth; or (3) $100 million.
Venue Reform: HB 13 (special session) (2004); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-11-3.
Provides that civil suits may be filed in the county where the defendant resides (in the case of a corporation, the county of its principal place of business) or in the county where a “substantial alleged act or omission occurred or where a substantial event that cause the injury occurred.” Plaintiff may file in the county where he/she lives if venue cannot be established under above criteria. Provides that venue must be proper for each plaintiff. Provides that the trial court shall dismiss the claim or action if it would be more properly decided in another state. If the claim would be more properly decided in another county, provided the case shall be transferred to the appropriate county. Provides that for medical providers, venue shall be proper where the act or omission occurred.
Medical Liability Reform: Venue Reform: H.B.2 (special session) (2002); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-11-3.
Limits venue in medical liability actions to the county where the cause of action occurred.
Joint and Several Liability Reform: H.B. 13 (special session) (2004); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7.
Abolishes joint and several liability. Provides that defendants are not responsible for any fault allocated to an immune tortfeasor or a tortfeasor whose liability is limited by law.
Medical Liability Reform: Joint and Several Liability Reform: H.B.2 (special session) (2002); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7.
Replaces the rule of joint and several liability with the rule of proportionate liability for noneconomic damages (that is, limit a joint tortfeasor’s liability for noneconomic damages to his percentage of fault). Replaces the rule of joint and several liability with the rule of proportionate liability for economic damages, where the defendant is found to be less than 30% at fault. Replaces the rule of joint and several liability with a rule that allows a joint tortfeasor to be held up to 50% responsible for economic damages, where the defendant is found to be at least 30% at fault.
Jury service exemption requirements – doctors and lawyers are now eligible for service – all those called must appear in court and be excused for cause.
Jury Service Reform: S.B. 2488 (2006); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-23.
Postpones the enactment of the jury service portion of H.B.
Postpones the enactment of the jury service portion of H.B. 13 (2004) until January 1, 2008.
Medical Liability Reform: Noneconomic Damages Reform: H.B. 13 (special session) (2004); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60.
Establishes a hard cap of $500,000 on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases (the $500,000 cap that was passed during a special session in 2002 contained an escalator clause which would have raised the cap to $750,000 in 2011 and $1 million in 2017).
Noneconomic Damages Reform: H.B. 13 (special session); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60.
Limits the recovery of noneconomic damages in all civil cases, with the exception of medical liability actions, to $1 million.
Enacts conditions required of the Attorney General before entering into a contingency fee contract for legal services. Requires public notice of contracts entered into and contingency fees paid, and places incremental restrictions upon the amount of contingency fees that can be paid out of a specific recovery amount.
Product Liability Reform: H.B. 13 (special session) (2004); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-63.
Provides that the seller of a product, other than a manufacturer, cannot be held liable unless the seller had substantial control over the harm causing aspect of the product, the harm was caused by a seller’s alteration or modification of the product, the seller had actual knowledge of the defective condition at the time the product was sold, or the seller made an express warranty about the aspect of the product which caused the plaintiff’s harm.
Product Liability Reform: HB 1270 (1993).
Requires product liability cases to be based on a design, manufacturing or warning defect, or breach of an express warranty, which caused the product to be unreasonably dangerous. Provides that a product that contains an inherently dangerous characteristic is not defective if the dangerous characteristic cannot be eliminated without substantially reducing the product’s usefulness or desirability and the inherent characteristic is recognized by the ordinary person with ordinary knowledge common to the community. Provides that a manufacturer or seller cannot be held liable for failure to warn of a product’s dangerous condition if it was not known at the time the product left the manufacturer’s or seller’s control. Completely bars from recovery a plaintiff who knowingly and voluntarily exposes himself or herself to a dangerous product condition if he or she is injured as a result of that condition. Relieves a manufacturer or seller from the duty to warn of a product that poses an open and obvious risk. Provides that a properly functioning product is not defective unless there was a practical and economically feasible design alternative available at the time of manufacture. Provides for indemnification of innocent retailers and wholesalers.
Punitive Damages Reform: HB 13 (special session) (2004); Amended Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65.
Modifies and lowers some caps on punitive damages, based upon the net worth of a defendant. $20 million for a defendant with a net worth of more than $1 billion; $15 million for a defendant with a net worth of more than $750 million but not more than $1 billion $5 million for a defendant with a net worth of more than $500 million but not more than $750 million (new law); $3.75 million for a defendant with a net worth of more than $100 million but not more than $500 million (new law); $2.5 million for defendants with a net worth of more than $50 million but not more than $100 million (new law); Two percent of the defendant’s net worth for a defendant with a net worth of $50 million or less (new law).
Punitive Damages Reform: HB 1270 (1993): Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65(1)(a).
Requires a plaintiff to prove punitive damages by “clear and convincing” evidence. Requires the determination of awards for punitive damages to be made in a separate proceeding. Prohibits the award of punitive damages in the absence of compensatory awards. Prohibits the award of punitive damages against an innocent seller. Establishes factors for the jury to consider when determining the amount of a punitive damages award.
Creates a substantive right for defendants to obtain bankruptcy trust discovery. The plaintiff must provide the court and parties with a sworn statement indicating that all asbestos trust claims that can be made by the plaintiff have been filed. A defendant may file a motion requesting a stay of the proceedings that identifies the asbestos trust claims the defendant believes the plaintiff can file and include information supporting the asbestos trust claims. If the court determines that there is a sufficient basis for the plaintiff to file an asbestos trust claim identified in the motion to stay, the court shall stay the asbestos action until the plaintiff files the asbestos trust claim and produces all related trust claims materials.
Abolished civil liability for premises owners for death or injury to an independent contractor or their employees if the contractor knew or should have known the danger that caused the harm.

References: § 11
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