The 2012 Minnesota Legislative Session began on January 24th. We will be tracking bills that
we believe may be of interest to our clients. As this is the second year of the two-year session,
all bills introduced last year are still “alive” during the 2012 Session.
NEWS! On February 10, 2012, Governor Dayton vetoed the four tort reform bills that were part
of the “Minnesotans for Lawsuit Reform” legislation. The bills are:
- S.F. 373/H.F. 654, shortens the statute of limitations for civil claims from six years to four. See the veto letter here: http://mn.gov/governor/images/CH-119-373.pdf
- S.F. 429/H.F. 747, amends Rule 68 legislation (attorney’s fees for offers of settlement). See the veto letter here: http://mn.gov/governor/images/CH-120-429.pdf
- S.F. 530/H.F. 770, lowers the prejudgment interest rate on most awards and judgments from a 10 percent flat rate to a market based rate. See the veto letter here: http://mn.gov/governor/images/CH-121-530.pdf
- S.F. 149/H.F. 211, provides for an interlocutory appeal that allows companies to appeal the certification of a class action before discovery costs are incurred. See the veto letter here: http://mn.gov/governor/images/CH-118-149.pdf
Please return to this site as the Session gets underway. If you should have any questions about
the legislation that TAP&G is monitoring, please contact Lisa Griebel at 612/573-3004.
2011-2012
Legislative Session 87
(Please click on the bill numbers for the status)
Bill Description |
Senate File |
House File |
 STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS |
||
Amendments to Civil Action Statute of Limitations: Reduction, Tort Reform Shorten the statute of limitations to require tort suits to be brought within four years and contract claims within two years |
SF0373 Governor Veto |
|
| NO FAULT AND AUTOMOBILE LEGISLATION |
||
No Fault Automobile Insurance Regulating uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical benefits, arbitration, and marketing practices, reducing automobile medical fraud, amending Minn. Stat. §§ 65B.44, subdiv. 1, 2; 65B.525, by adding subdiv. 65B.54, subdiv. 4, 6, by adding subdivisions; 609.612, subdiv. 1 |
||
|
||
No Fault Automobile Insurance Limitation of Damages for Noneconomic Detriment Modifications Modifying the limitation on damages for noneconomic detriment; amending Minn. Stat. § 65B.51, subdiv. 3 (the no fault tort threshold) |
||
|
||
No Fault Automobile Insurance Act Repeal: compulsory auto insurance and insurance premium reductions requirement Repealing the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act; providing a premium reduction of at least 20 percent on each policy issued or renewed after 1/1/2012; requiring liability coverage; proposing coding for new law in Minn. Stat. Ch. 65B; repealing Minn. Stat. §§ 65B.41; 65B.42; 65B.43; 65B.44; 65B.45; 65B.46; 65B.47; 65B.48, subdiv. 1, 2, 3, 3a, 4a, 5a, 7, 8, 9; 65B.50; 65B.51; 65B.525; 65B.53; 65B.54; 65B.55; 65B.56; 65B.57; 65B.58; 65B.59; 65B.60; 65B.61, subdiv. 1, 2, 2a, 3; 65B.63; 65B.64; 65B.65; 65B.66; 65B.685; 65B.71 |
N/A |
|
|
||
Fairness for Responsible Drivers Act Limits certain remedies of uninsured motorists; increases amount of certain criminal fines, amends Minn. Stat. §§ 65B.51, subdiv. 3; 169.797, subdiv. 4 |
||
|
||
Fair Claims Practices Act Amended Amending the Fair Claims Practices Act as it applies to certain automobile insurance claims; providing certain rights for third-party claimants in insurance settlement of claims; amending Minn. Stat. § 72A.201, subdiv. 6 |
N/A |
|
| MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AND VULNERABLE ADULTS |
||
Vulnerable Adults: Civil Remedies for Neglect and Abuse Providing certain remedies for neglect, abuse and other actions against incapacitated and vulnerable adults; proposing coding for new law in Minn. Stat. Ch. 604 |
N/A |
|
|
||
Medical Malpractice Liability Reform: Limitation Adherence to best practices guidelines is absolute defense; noneconomic loss and punitive damage cap of $250,000; caps attorney fee awards; proposing coding for new law in Minn. Stat. Ch. 147; 604 |
N/A |
|
| COURT COSTS, CLAIM LIMITS & ATTORNEY FEES |
||
District Court Costs: Removal from conciliation court to district court Modifying determination of when a party prevails on a claim removed from conciliation court to district court for purposes of recovering district court costs; amending Minn. Stat. § 491A.02, subdiv. 7 |
N/A |
|
|
||
Conciliation Court Civil Claim Limit Increase Increasing conciliation court civil claim limit from $7,500 to $15,000 and from $4,000 to $7,500 if the claim involves a consumer credit transaction |
||
|
||
Judgment Interest Rate Amending Minn. Stat. § 549.09, subiv. 1 Reduce interest paid on all judgments from 10% back to the one year constant maturity treasury yield or 4%, whichever is greater |
SF0530 Governor Veto |
HF0770 Governor Veto |
|
||
Attorney fees determining factor establishment Providing a factor for determining the amount of attorney fees awarded in certain actions for when a statute provides for the award of attorney fees to a party that has recovered money damages |
SF0429 Govenor Veto |
|
| MISCELLANEOUS |
||
Asbestos Liability Limited for Innocent Successor Corporations Proposing coding for new law in Minn. Stat. Ch. 604A |
||
|
||
Consumer Fraud/Class Action Unlawful or deceptive trade practice actions modified; class action court order appeals permitted |
SF0149 Governor Veto |
|
|
||
Indemnification Agreements and Professional Service Contracts Regulating building and construction contracts and indemnification agreements Amending Minn. Stat. §§ 337.01; 337.02; 337.05 |
||
|
||
Negligent conduct liability waivers prohibited Prohibiting waivers of liability for negligent civil conduct; proposing coding for new law in Minn. Stat. Ch. 604 |
||
For complete Legislative information, visit www.leg.state.mn.us.
Minnesota House of Representatives information can be found at www.house.leg.state.mn.us
Minnesota Senate information can be found at www.senate.leg.state.mn.us
NEW LAW
In January 2011, the Wisconsin Legislature amended Wis. Stat. § 907.02 and adopted the Daubert reliability standard found in Federal Rule of Evidence 702. The Daubert standard is followed in a majority of states. This new evidentiary standard is effective for all civil and criminal actions filed in Wisconsin state courts after February 1, 2011.
br