SB1296eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1296 Engrossed LRB095 07166 AJO 27297 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Section 2-1117 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/2-1117) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1117)

Sec. 2-1117. Joint liability. Except as provided in Section 2-1118, in actions on account of bodily injury or death or physical damage to property, based on negligence, or product liability based on strict tort liability, all defendants found liable are jointly and severally liable for plaintiff's past and future medical and medically related expenses. Any defendant whose fault, as determined by the trier of fact, is less than 25% of the total fault attributable to the plaintiff, the defendants sued by the plaintiff, and any third party defendant except the plaintiff's employer, shall be severally liable for all other damages. Any defendant whose fault, as determined by the trier of fact, is 25% or greater of the total fault attributable to the plaintiff, the defendants sued by the plaintiff, and any third party defendants except the plaintiff's employer, shall be jointly and severally liable for all other damages. The apportionment of fault under this Section only applies to the parties still remaining in the case at the time of the final determination by the trier of fact. It does not apply to the defendants or third party defendants that have been dismissed for any reason, including settlement.

The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 93-10, eff. 6-4-03; 93-12, eff. 6-4-03.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.