Legal Reform

Issue Overview: A single lawsuit can be a financial disaster for small business owners who often cannot afford a costly extended trial. Although we've been successful winning passage of key legal reforms that have helped reduce the number of personal injury and property damage claims, we continue to work for greater predictability, fairness, and a less costly civil justice system in Wisconsin. Small business needs relief from skyrocketing insurance costs, and legislation is needed that will limit or eliminate the uncertainty from unpredictable and sometimes unwarranted lawsuits.  We lead a broad coalition of organizations dedicated to an aggressive legislative agenda of meaningful legal reforms in Wisconsin.

• Product Liability: We support legislation that will restore fairness and balance to our civil justice system by establishing reasonable standards and defenses for determining liability, including:

• Rules of Evidence: We support legislation that would conform Wisconsin’s rules of evidence to the federal law. Adoption of the Daubert standards for evidence and expert testimony in civil lawsuits would maximize the ability of our courts to determine the truth and resolve factual disputes with fairness to all parties should be approved and signed into law. This common-sense expert opinion bill will ensure that testimony admitted into evidence in Wisconsin is credible and reliable, based on sound principles and methods, and is presented by a true expert in his or her field.

• Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: We support legislation that would limit the amount of non-economic damages that may be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.

• Expanding Lawsuits: We support legislation that would prevent businesses or individuals from being held liable for products they did not manufacture, sell or distribute.