Backers, foes debate merits of Arkansas tort ballot proposal

Voter approval of a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit certain damages in civil lawsuits and allow the Legislature to rewrite the state Supreme Court's procedural rules will help recruit more jobs and doctors to Arkansas, the measure's supporters said Thursday before the Political Animals Club.

But opponents disagreed with those assessments and warned of perilous consequences.

The backers and foes of Issue 1 debated for more than an hour before about 150 people attending the Political Animals Club luncheon at Next Level Events in Little Rock's Union Station.

The debate came a week after former Pulaski County Circuit Judge Marion Humphrey filed suit seeking to knock Issue 1 off the Nov. 6 general election ballot. His lawsuit argues that the proposed amendment, referred to voters by the Republican-controlled Legislature, is an illegal amalgamation of changes to the Arkansas Constitution.

The proposed constitutional amendment would limit attorneys' contingency fees; limit non-economic damages to $500,000; cap punitive damages, with certain exceptions, to the greater of either $500,000 or three times the amount of compensatory damages awarded; and allow the Legislature to amend and repeal the state Supreme Court's rules of pleading, practice or procedure with a three-fifths vote.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jul/20/backers-foes-debate-merits-of-tort-ball-1/?f=news-politics

The $500,000 cap on non-economic damages is too low. Seeing a loved one die in an accident can be traumatic and if that is witnessed by several family members then the psychiatrist bills will add up quickly.