Torts bill contains policy changes

The House Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee approved an omnibus torts bill May 5 that contains a compilation of several policy-related bills.

Sponsored by Rep. Doug Wardlow (R-Eagan), HF211 was approved as amended on a 9-6 party-line vote and sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Included in the bill is:

• HF32, sponsored by Rep. David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake), which would enact new tort liability limits for claims against states or municipalities if the claim involves a nonprofit engaged in outdoor recreational activities;

• a section from the original language in HF211 that would permit a court order related to certification of a class in a class action suit to be appealed;

• HF654, sponsored by Wardlow, which would reduce certain statutes of limitations from six years to four years. The changes outlined in the bill were amended to not include any changes to statute of limitation for contract or domestic abuse cases;

• HF747, sponsored by Rep. Pat Mazorol (R-Bloomington), which would create language to provide instructions to the courts that when awarding attorneys fees the court must take into consideration the reasonableness of the fees, and provide a limit on attorney fee awards in certain cases in which an offer for judgment award is made but rejected;

• HF770, sponsored by Mazorol, which would make changes to how interest rates are computed for judgments;

• HF868, sponsored by Rep. Ron Shimanski (R-Silver Lake), which would increase the monetary threshold for filing civil actions in conciliation court from $7,500 to $10,000, and for consumer credit actions from $4,000 to $5,000; and

• HF1343, sponsored by Rep. Bob Dettmer (R-Forest Lake), which would establish civil immunity for school districts that make their facilities available for recreational use by members of the public.

Tom Grundhoefer, general counsel for the League of Minnesota Cities, said the organization is generally supportive of the bill, but expressed concern about a section related to HF770 that he said would impose significant additional costs to local governments.

Joel Carlson, a lobbyist for the Minnesota Association for Justice, called the proposed legislation unbalanced and said sections of the bill benefit insurance companies.