JACKSON - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he will give proponents of tort reform an opportunity to make their case.
"If they have convincing information, it ought to be acted upon," Sen. Bennie Turner, D-West Point, said Tuesday, "but not just allegations and rumors and anecdotes."
Turner, a trial lawyer, said he is unsure whether a compromise can be reached.
"We have to see what sort of information or data is available to support the need for it," he said.
Tort reform - changing the state's civil justice laws - has made little progress in recent sessions of the Legislature, where bills have been bottled up in committees run by trial lawyers.
The debate over liability lawsuits dates back to the 1960s when state courts expanded the rights of claimants, ruling they can make a case against a defendant who sold a product that caused damage without proving the defendant was negligent or involved in intentional wrongdoing.
Business groups say this has been a windfall for trial lawyers. Trial lawyers and consumer groups argue that stories of a system out of control are overblown.
Mississippi has become well-known for multimillion-dollar jury awards. Before 1995, the state's largest punitive damage award was $8 million. In the past six years, at least seven jury verdicts have hit $100 million or more.
Mississippi, unlike other Southeastern states, has not adopted caps on jury awards and other new civil liability laws.
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