West Virginia
Tort Reform
TRAILBLAZERS
West Virginia lawmakers passed two important pieces of legislation intended to improve the state's civil justice climate this year, landing it among 2024's "Tort Reform Trailblazers."
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Stuart (R)
Sponsored by Sen. Charlie Trump (R)
2024 Legislative Session Adjourned:
March 9, 2024
Lawsuit abuse and excessive tort costs result in an annual “tort tax” of $662 paid by every West Virginia resident. These reforms further seek to lessen the economic burden families face, including the more than 10,000 jobs lost in the Mountain State every year due to excessive tort costs.
SENATE
31
3
HOUSE
89
11
After many years as a perennial Judicial Hellhole®, and as a former-No. 1 Judicial Hellhole®, West Virginia was removed from the report in 2021 as part of the Judicial Hellholes®20th Anniversary Escaped List.
HISTORY
Commercial Trucking Litigation Reform
S.B. 583 was signed into law by
Gov. Jim Justice (R) on March 27, 2024.
This reform legislation helps to provide some limits on expanding liability and nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry. This bill limits noneconomic damages in commercial vehicle cases to $5 million, with certain exceptions.
This bill will help provide predictability for businesses and insurers in assessing potential liability.
Sponsored by
Sen. Mike Stuart (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Mike Azinger (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Vince Deeds (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. R.W. Phillips (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Randy E. Smith (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Eric Tarr (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Jay Taylor (R)
Co-Sponsored by
Sen. Rollan Roberts (R)
Third-Party Litigation Financing
S.B. 850 was signed into law by
Gov. Jim Justice (R) on March 27, 2024.
Sponsored by
Sen. Charlie Trump (R)
SB 583 is a positive reform that aims to prevent lawsuit abuse and foreign influence in the state's civil justice system. The bill extends third-party litigation funding safeguards and disclosure requirements enacted in 2019 for consumer lawsuit lending to apply to all third-party litigation funding. By regulating all TPLF, the bill helps prevent unregulated money from foreign countries from flooding West Virginia’s courts and eroding the fairness of the justice system. This ensures that litigation is not unduly influenced by external financial interests.
This bill also will limit the annual fee that funders can charge to 18% for funding provided to a natural person, retaining its use only for consumer lawsuit loans. This protects consumers from excessive charges.
This new law will strengthen the safeguards around litigation financing, promote transparency, and helps prevent foreign influence and lawsuit abuse in West Virginia’s civil justice system.
Votes
Voted in Favor of Reform
Voted Against Reform
Absent
Did Not Vote
Sponsored Reform Bill
KEY
Member Name | Commercial Trucking Litigation Reform S.B. 583 | Third-Party Litigation Financing S.B. 850 |
Senate Floor | Senate Floor | |
Sen. Azinger (R) | ||
Sen. Barrett (R) | ||
Sen. Blair (R) | ||
Sen. Boley (R) | ||
Sen. Caputo (D) | ||
Sen. Chapman (R) | ||
Sen. Clements (R) | ||
Sen. Deeds (R) | ||
Sen. Grady (R) | ||
Sen. Hamilton (R) | ||
Sen. Hunt (R) | ||
Sen. Jeffries (R) | ||
Sen. Karnes (R) | ||
Sen. Maroney (R) | ||
Sen. Martin (R) | ||
Sen. Maynard (R) | ||
Sen. Nelson (R) | ||
Sen. Oliverio (R) | ||
Sen. Phillips (R) | ||
Sen. Plymale (D) | ||
Sen. Queen (R) | ||
Sen. Roberts (R) | ||
Sen. Rucker (R) | ||
Sen. Smith, R. (R) | ||
Sen. Stover (R) | ||
Sen. Stuart (R) | ||
Sen. Swope (R) | ||
Sen. Takubo (R) | ||
Sen. Tarr (R) | ||
Sen. Taylor (R) | ||
Sen. Trump (R) | ||
Sen. Weld (R) | ||
Sen. Woelfel (D) | ||
Sen. Woodrum (R) |
Member Name | Commercial Trucking Litigation Reform S.B. 583 | Third-Party Litigation Financing S.B. 850 |
House Floor | House Floor | |
Rep. Adkins (R) | ||
Rep. Akers (R) | ||
Rep. Anderson (R) | ||
Rep. Barnhart (R) | ||
Rep. Bridges (R) | ||
Rep. Brooks (R) | ||
Rep. Burkhammer (R) | ||
Rep. Butler (R) | ||
Rep. Campbell (R) | ||
Rep. Cannon (R) | ||
Rep. Chiarelli (R) | ||
Rep. Clark, T. (R) | ||
Rep. Clark, W. (R) | ||
Rep. Coop-Gonzalez (R) | ||
Rep. Cooper (R) | ||
Rep. Criss (R) | ||
Rep. Crouse (R) | ||
Rep. DeVault (R) | ||
Rep. Dean (R) | ||
Rep. Dillon (R) | ||
Rep. Dittman (R) | ||
Rep. Ellington (R) | ||
Rep. Espinosa (R) | ||
Rep. Fast (R) | ||
Rep. Fehrenbacher (R) | ||
Rep. Ferrell (R) | ||
Rep. Fluharty (D) | ||
Rep. Foggin (R) | ||
Rep. Forsht (R) | ||
Rep. Foster (R) | ||
Rep. Garcia (D) | ||
Rep. Gearheart (R) | ||
Rep. Green (R) | ||
Rep. Griffith (D) | ||
Rep. Hall (R) | ||
Rep. Hamilton (D) | ||
Rep. Hansen (D) | ||
Rep. Hanshaw (R) | ||
Rep. Hardy (R) | ||
Rep. Heckert (R) | ||
Rep. Hillenbrand (R) | ||
Rep. Hite (R) | ||
Rep. Holstein (R) | ||
Rep. Hornbuckle (D) | ||
Rep. Hornby (R) | ||
Rep. Horst (R) | ||
Rep. Hott (R) | ||
Rep. Householder (R) | ||
Rep. Howell (R) | ||
Rep. Jeffries, D. (R) | ||
Rep. Jennings (R) | ||
Rep. Kelly (R) | ||
Rep. Kimble (R) | ||
Rep. Kirby (R) | ||
Rep. Kump (R) | ||
Rep. Lewis (D) | ||
Rep. Linville (R) | ||
Rep. Longanacre (R) | ||
Rep. Lucas (R) | ||
Rep. Mallow (R) | ||
Rep. Marple (R) | ||
Rep. Martin, C. (R) | ||
Rep. Maynor (R) | ||
Rep. Mazzocchi (R) | ||
Rep. McGeehan (R) | ||
Rep. Miller (R) | ||
Rep. Moore (R) | ||
Rep. Nestor (R) | ||
Rep. Petitto (R) | ||
Rep. Phillips (R) | ||
Rep. Pinson (R) | ||
Rep. Pritt, C. (R) | ||
Rep. Pritt, D. E. (R) | ||
Rep. Pushkin (D) | ||
Rep. Ridenour (R) | ||
Rep. Riley (R) | ||
Rep. Rohrbach (R) | ||
Rep. Ross (R) | ||
Rep. Rowe (D) | ||
Rep. Shamblin (R) | ||
Rep. Sheedy (R) | ||
Rep. Smith (R) | ||
Rep. Statler (R) | ||
Rep. Steele (R) | ||
Rep. Stephens (R) | ||
Rep. Street (R) | ||
Rep. Summers (R) | ||
Rep. Thorne (R) | ||
Rep. Toney (R) | ||
Rep. Tully (R) | ||
Rep. Vance (R) | ||
Rep. Ward, B. (R) | ||
Rep. Warner (R) | ||
Rep. Westfall (R) | ||
Rep. Williams, J. (D) | ||
Rep. Willis (R) | ||
Rep. Winzenreid (R) | ||
Rep. Worrell (R) | ||
Rep. Young (D) | ||
Rep. Zatezalo (R) |
