Senate Leadership Calls Out OK Supreme Court for Lawsuit Reform Decision

The Oklahoma State Supreme Court came under fire on Monday in the wake of its decision to strike down a state law that put a cap on noneconomic damages in workers’ compensation cases.  Senate Leadership has come out against the Court’s use of “special law” restrictions to throw out laws.

Justice John Reif wrote the opinion for the Beason v. I.E. Miller Services Inc. case. A worker was injured by a falling crane, but the noneconomic damages were limited by the cap even though the jury awarded the worker and his wife millions.

Reif writes, “At issue is the constitutionality of a legislative enactment–23 O.S. 2011 § 61.2–that statutorily limits a plaintiff’s recovery of noneconomic damages to $350,000 unless special findings are made. In this case, the trial court significantly reduced the jury’s award based on its application of 23 O.S. 2011 § 61.2(B)–(F). We conclude that the challenged statutory provision–the cap on actual noneconomic damages–is wrought with an irremediable constitutional infirmity: It is a special law categorically prohibited by Article 5, Section 46 of the Oklahoma Constitution. We hold that 23 O.S. 2011 § 61.2(B)–(F) is unconstitutional in its entirety, and we reverse the trial court’s judgment to the extent it modified–and reduced–the jury’s verdict in favor of the plaintiffs.”

The use of the special law provision did not sit well with Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat.

“It’s not surprising the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a lawsuit reform provision under the auspices of it being a ‘special law.’ The Supreme Court has previously demonstrated its dislike of lawsuit reform, and when the court doesn’t like a law they fall back to their old standby of using ‘special law’ or ‘single-subject rule’ to throw out constitutionally sound bills. If the Supreme Court can’t apply these standards in a consistent basis, then perhaps the Legislature should look at remedies that would bring uniformity to the application of these important provisions of the state constitution,” said Treat.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Senator Julie Daniels also criticized the decision.

“The courts are intended to be independent arbiters of the constitutionality of legislation, but you cannot fault Oklahomans for questioning that independence when the court haphazardly uses ‘special law’ and ‘single-subject rule’ to strike down laws the court does not like. This is an issue that merits further study by members of the Legislature,” said Daniels.


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