[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1503 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 organization, 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 compensatory 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 Representatives 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 unnecessary and 
        ultimately harmful barrier between the traditional desire of 
        individuals to help other individuals and their ability to act 
        on those desires;
            (2) the cost of lawsuits, excessive, unpredictable, and 
        often arbitrary damage awards, and unfair allocations of 
        liability have a direct and chilling effect 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 
        institutional 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 refused 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 themselves is an appropriate subject 
        for Federal legislation because--
                    (A) of the national scope of the problems created 
                by the legitimate fears of volunteers about frivolous, 
                arbitrary, or capricious lawsuits; and
                    (B) the citizens of the United States depend on, 
                and the Federal Government expends funds on, numerous 
                social programs that depend on the services of 
                volunteers; and
                    (C) it is in the interest of the Federal Government 
                to encourage the continued operation of volunteer 
                service organizations and contributions of volunteers 
                because the Federal Government lacks the capacity to 
                carry out all of the services provided by such 
                organizations and volunteers; and
            (7) liability reform for volunteer service organizations 
        will promote the free flow of goods and services, lessen 
        burdens on interstate commerce and uphold 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 
        fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to provide protection 
from personal financial liability for volunteers and volunteer service 
organizations that provide volunteer 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, volunteer 
        service organizations, and governmental entities that depend on 
        volunteer contributions and services; 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, rationality, 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 damages in an action 
                covered by this Act and any person on whose behalf such 
                a claim is asserted.
                    (B) Claimants for certain claims.--If a claim 
                described in subparagraph (A) is asserted 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 established.
                    (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 preponderance 
                        of the evidence; and
                            (ii) less than the degree of proof required 
                        to meet the standard of proof beyond 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 related to employment, medical 
        expense loss, replacement 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 
        applicable 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, organization, 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 (including 
                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 ``noneconomic loss'' means 
        subjective, nonmonetary loss resulting from harm, including 
        pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional 
        distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of 
        consortium, 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 person to punish or deter that 
        person or any other person, 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, American 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, 
        educational, religious, welfare, or health purposes.
            (12) Volunteer services.--The term ``volunteer 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 service 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 defendant 
                for a governmental entity or a volunteer 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 paragraph (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 international 
                        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 defined 
                        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 applicable 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 supersedes 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 immunity 
        asserted by any State under any law;
            (2) supersede or alter any other Federal law;
            (3) waive or affect any defense of sovereign immunity 
        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 respect to 
        claims brought by a foreign nation or a citizen 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 common law, 
        including any law providing for an action to abate a nuisance, 
        that authorizes a person to institute an action for civil 
        damages or civil penalties, cleanup costs, injunctions, 
        restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form 
        of relief for remediation of the environment (as defined in 
        section 101(8) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
        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 applicable State 
or Federal law, be awarded against a defendant 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 described 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 awarded 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 compensatory 
        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 modify 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 punitive 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 subparagraph (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 accordance with this section.
    (b) Amount of Liability for Compensatory Damages.--
            (1) In general.--Each defendant shall be liable only for 
        the amount of compensatory damages allocated by the trier of 
        fact to the defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of 
        responsibility of the defendant (determined in accordance with 
        paragraph (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 compensatory damages allocated to a 
        defendant under this section, the trier of fact in an action 
        described in subsection (a) shall determine the percentage of 
        responsibility of each person responsible for the harm to the 
        claimant, without regard to whether that person is party to the 
        action.
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