Tennessee Says Yes to Justice and NO to Tort Reform

The Senate Judiciary Committee of the Tennessee legislature voted to reject a bill that would have severely curtailed plaintiffs in Tennessee's ability to obtain punitive damages.

If SB2637 (penned by Republican Senator Brian Kelsey (House version by Republican Rep. Vance Dennis)) had passed, Tennessee would have held employers responsible for punitive damages only if (a) the reckless act was committed by someone employed in a management capacity; (b) the employer recklessly hired, retained, supervised or trained the reckless employee; or (c) the employer authorized, ratified or approved the reckless act or omission with knowledge or conscious disregard for the loss or injury.

So, plaintiffs would have received justice ... virtually never.

The Bill defined "someone employed in a management capacity" as a management-level employee with the stature and authority to set policy and exercise control, discretion, and independent judgment over a significant scope of the employer's business and where the alleged act or omission warranting punitive damages by such management-level employee was directly within the scope of such authority.

Admittedly, punitive damage awards are very rare. But the threat of punitive damages encourages more responsible behavior that ultimately protects people.

The defeat of this bill has been described as a major victory for Tennessee consumers. Way to go Tennessee!