JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi's lawsuit limitations in civil cases don't attack a plaintiff's right to have a jury hear his claims, the state Supreme Court was told Tuesday.
Frances A. Citera of Chicago, attorney for Sears, Roebuck and Co., said the law only takes power away from jurors to the extent that they cannot award non-economic damages of more than $1 million.
The Mississippi Supreme Court is trying to determine if the cap is constitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the request in the case of a Mississippi woman who sued Sears, Roebuck and Co. after she was involved in a collision with one of the company's vans near Philadelphia, Miss.
A federal jury in Mississippi found Sears liable for Lisa Learmonth's injuries and awarded $4 million in damages, of which the parties agreed $2.2 million was for non-economic damages. The federal judge reduced the non-economic damages to $1 million.
Sears asked the 5th Circuit for a new trial, which the appeals court panel denied. Learmonth's appeal of the judge's reduction of the non-economic damages prompted the 5th Circuit's query to the Mississippi court.
Tuesday's hearing evolved around whether the Legislature overstepped its authority in passing the law and whether the law violates a constitutional right to have a jury determines the facts of a case, including damages.
"The jury assessed damages in accord with the law," Citera said. "The judge applied the law within the statutory framework. It is taking away from the jury ... (but) only as the outer limit of remedy available to the plaintiff."
However, the tort limits allow the Legislature "to tamper with the jury's authority to deal with damages," said Kevin Hamilton of Meridian, one of Learmonth's lawyers.
Hamilton said the verdict in the Learmonth case was supported by the evidence.
"This is an infringement or encroachment on judicial power, if not on the power of the jury," attorney Robert S. Peck of Washington D.C. told the court.
Peck said the damage limitations policy by the Legislature "expresses some distrust in juries and judges to determine" what damages should be applied in civil cases.
The case has been watched by various business and trade associations, and by Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, who said in court papers that "the non-economic damage caps and other tort reform measures leveled the playing field for all litigants, ensured fair and predictable results, averted a health care crisis and attracted new businesses to the state."
The $1 million cap on non-economic damages applies to what a jury can award someone for such things as pain and suffering. The limits on damages were adopted by Mississippi lawmakers after years of contentious wrangling over tort reform.
Non-economic damages under Mississippi law do not include punitive damages.
There is no cap on damages for economic losses, such as how much the person could have expected to earn in his or her lifetime or for such things as continuing medical expenses.
The initial limits on lawsuit awards came in 2002 during Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's administration. Barbour defeated Musgrove in 2003. The law was amended in 2004 amid complaints that the initial reforms didn't go far enough.
Doctors, businesses and medical groups argued for years that the legal climate in Mississippi was untenable because of excessive awards. Plaintiffs' attorneys and others claimed caps on damages further victimized people who had been wronged by negligence and denied people the compensation they deserved.
Last September, the Supreme Court overturned a $1.67 million verdict awarded to Richard Lee Lymas against the owners of a Belzoni convenience store who were sued after Lymas was shot and wounded in the store's parking lot.
Trade groups believed the case was a chance for the court to affirm the constitutionality of Mississippi's non-economic damage caps, which were challenged by Lymas.
The Supreme Court did not address the issue. The court said its decision that Lymas failed to prove the store was liable for his injuries made his challenge to the tort reform statute moot.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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