State judge declares tort cap unconstitutional; criticizes Legislature
by Associated Press
Published: April 24,2012
Tags: attorneys, bench, constitutional, damages, doctors, health, health care, injuries, judge, judicial, judiciary, law, lawyers, medical, medicine, physicians, ruling, tort, tort reform
CLARKSDALE — A state judge in Coahoma County has declared a legislatively imposed cap on non-economic damages unconstitutional.
Circuit Judge Charles Webster issued the ruling April 20 in a 14-page opinion. He criticized the Legislature for intruding into judicial authority.
Webster’s ruling came in a motion filed by Cleveland attorney Ralph E. Chapman in lawsuit seeking damages stemming from the death of a child in an apartment complex fire.
A Coahoma jury in September returned a verdict for the plaintiffs that included $6 million in non-economic damages. State law that went into effect in 2004 limits awards for non-economic damages to $1 million.
Chapman said today the plaintiffs sought the ruling on grounds the cap is unconstitutional.
The Mississippi Supreme Court is expected to get the case.
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