To the surprise of very few, the Ohio Supreme Court announced last week that it was affirming several sections of the 2004 Tort Reform Act.
The Court ruled that legislation capping the amount of noneconomic damages that may be awarded to personal injury plaintiffs and placing limits on the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in Ohio tort actions does not violate the constitutional rights of injured parties to trial by jury, to a remedy at law for their injuries, or to due process and equal protection of the laws. The Court also held that the challenged statutes do not violate provisions of the Ohio Constitution that guarantee open courts and the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government.
What’s most interesting about this decision (which was issued December 27th) is the resounding yawn it received from both the legal community as well as the public at large.
Perhaps everyone is growing tired of the tort reform topic ….
