Opinion ID: 2230336
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: JUDICIAL v. LEGISLATIVE CHANGE

Text: It is urged by defendants that the decision to replace the doctrine of contributory negligence with the doctrine of comparative negligence must be made by the legislature, not by this court. In each of the States that have judicially adopted comparative negligence, the court addressed the propriety of judicial versus legislative adoption. In each, the court found that contributory negligence is a judicially created doctrine which can be altered or totally replaced by the court which created it. ( Scott v. Rizzo (1981), 96 N.M. 682, 686-87, 634 P.2d 1234, 1238-39; Placek v. City of Sterling Heights (1979), 405 Mich. 638, 657, 275 N.W.2d 511, 517; Bradley v. Appalachian Power Co. (W. Va. 1979), 256 S.E.2d 879, 881; Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975), 13 Cal.3d 804, 813-14, 532 P.2d 1226, 1232-33, 119 Cal. Rptr. 858, 864-65; Kaatz v. State (Alaska 1975), 540 P.2d 1037, 1049; Hoffman v. Jones (Fla. 1973), 280 So.2d 431, 434. See Skinner v. Reed-Prentice Division Package Machinery Co. (1978), 70 Ill.2d 1, 13-14.) Indeed, the United States Supreme Court deemed it appropriate to `adopt the proportional fault doctrine without Congressional action.' United States v. Reliable Transfer Co. (1975), 421 U.S. 397, 410, 44 L.Ed.2d 251, 261, 95 S.Ct. 1708, 1715. The Illinois Defense Counsel has, in its brief, urged that the legislature is better equipped to enact comparative negligence, asserting that the legislative process    involves a broad examination of the entire problem without emphasis on a particular fact situation. The Defense Counsel and defendants claim that judicial adoption of comparative negligence would result in a piecemeal approach that would leave for future cases many ancillary questions. They claim that the law would be left in confusion and turmoil. An examination of the States from which comparative negligence statutes have emerged reveals that such statutes are very general and brief and do not address collateral issues. Rather, the legislators apparently deemed it wise to leave the solution of collateral issues to the courts. Placek v. City of Sterling Heights (1979), 405 Mich. 638, 658, 275 N.W.2d 511, 518; Kirby v. Larson (1977), 400 Mich. 585, 630, 256 N.W.2d 400, 422; Fleming, Foreword: Comparative Negligence at Last  By Judicial Choice, 64 Cal. L. Rev. 239, 281 (1976); V. Schwartz, Comparative Negligence 360-61 (1974). Defendants point out that, since 1976, six bills were introduced in the Illinois legislature to abolish the doctrine of contributory negligence (Senate Bill 1674 on April 6, 1976, referred to committee; House Bill 1093, introduced March 29, 1977; House Bill 1368, introduced March 31, 1977; House Bill 1614, introduced April 1, 1977; House Bill 542, introduced February 21, 1979; House Bill 784, introduced March 8, 1979). They interpret the failure of each bill to pass as a sign of the General Assembly's desire to retain the present status of the rule. Another conclusion may be drawn, however, as pointed out by Mr. Justice Ward in his dissenting opinion in Maki v. Frelk (1968), 40 Ill.2d 193, 203: It can be argued that the legislature's inaction in this area is attributable to its feeling that it is more appropriate, considering the history of the question in Illinois, for the judiciary to act. See Scott v. Rizzo (1981), 96 N.M. 682, 686-87, 634 P.2d 1234, 1238-39; Kirby v. Larson (1977), 400 Mich. 585, 627-28, 256 N.W.2d 400, 420; Hoffman v. Jones (Fla. 1973), 280 So.2d 431, 438; Fleming, Foreword: Comparative Negligence at Last  By Judicial Choice, 64 Cal. L. Rev. 239, 277 (1976). In support of their view that the legislature intends to retain the rule, defendants point to various statutes which have incorporated the contributory negligence defense (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 24, par. 1-4-4 (regarding liability for injuries caused by firemen); Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 24, pars. 1-4-5, 1-4-6 (indemnification for injuries caused by policemen); Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 34, par. 301.1 (indemnity of sheriff or deputy); Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 121, pars. 385, 386 (tort liability of county superintendent of highways); and Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 127 1/2, par. 46 (liability of firemen for injuries to person or property)). They claim that these statutes act as a legislative ratification of the doctrine of contributory negligence. We do not agree. We believe that in enacting such statutes the legislature did not focus on the merits of the contributory negligence rule, but, rather, conformed the statutes to the then-existing law as announced by the court. We believe that the proper relationship between the legislature and the court is one of cooperation and assistance in examining and changing the common law to conform with the ever-changing demands of the community. There are, however, times when there exists a mutual state of inaction in which the court awaits action by the legislature and the legislature awaits guidance from the court. Such a stalemate is a manifest injustice to the public. When such a stalemate exists and the legislature has, for whatever reason, failed to act to remedy a gap in the common law that results in injustice, it is the imperative duty of the court to repair that injustice and reform the law to be responsive to the demands of society.