Red alert, all hands to battle stations, the sky is falling, we really mean it this time! AWC is asking cities to contact their Senators to oppose a costly bill that could dramatically increase the price of tort claims against a city. It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee Tuesday. The bill already passed out of the Senate Law & Justice Committee on a party-line vote.

As we wrote last month, SB 5059 requires interest on judgments against “public agencies” and other defendants for torts to accrue from the time the cause of action occurred (i.e. the time the plaintiff was injured or experienced a loss). This new standard would apply to arbitration awards and judgments entered after a trial.

This means interest would start to accrue before a claim was filed and before a city was made aware of the injury or loss. Between the time it takes for a plaintiff to file a claim and the time to litigate the case, years’ worth of interest would be added on before a court even has a chance to weigh in on the merits of a tort claim. Current law provides that interest begins to accrue on the date a judgment is entered by a court.

AWC encourages you to contact your senators and tell them:

• This bill will further increase the cost of city liability insurance and may drive some insurers out of the state altogether.
• Judges already have the ability to factor in pre-judgement costs when they make an award. This will only add on extra litigation costs before cities even knew there was a claim.
• This bill will penalize cities for timelines outside of their control. Courts are already overburdened; sometimes it can take years for a case to come to trial.
• This bill creates additional financial incentives for parties to delay filing a cause of action and for trial attorneys to file additional claims.

You can also sign in here to testify or simply note your opposition on SB 5059 (either in person or remotely) or submit written comments.

The House has a similar bill, HB 1649. AWC opposes both SB 5059 and HB 1649.

If you have any questions about the bill or how to contact your legislators, please contact Candice Bock or Matt Doumit

Dates to remember

SB 5059 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on Tuesday, February 7 at 4 pm.