2292-S2 AMS BENS GORR 073
2SHB 2292 - S AMD to S COMM AMD (S5455.1) 169
By Senator Benson
NOT ADOPTED 2/22/2006
On page 60, after line 19, insert the following:
"Sec. 317. RCW 4.22.070 and 1993 c 496 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In all actions involving fault of more than one entity, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage of the total fault which is attributable to every entity which caused the claimant's damages except entities immune from liability to the claimant under Title 51 RCW. The sum of the percentages of the total fault attributed to at-fault entities shall equal one hundred percent. The entities whose fault shall be determined include the claimant or person suffering personal injury or incurring property damage, defendants, third-party defendants, entities released by the claimant, entities with any other individual defense against the claimant, and entities immune from liability to the claimant, but shall not include those entities immune from liability to the claimant under Title 51 RCW. Judgment shall be entered against each defendant except those who have been released by the claimant or are immune from liability to the claimant or have prevailed on any other individual defense against the claimant in an amount which represents that party's proportionate share of the claimant's total damages. The liability of each defendant shall be several only and shall not be joint except((:
(a) ))a party shall be responsible for the fault of another person or for payment of the proportionate share of another party where both were acting in concert or when a person was acting as an agent or servant of the party.
(((b) If the trier of fact determines that the claimant or party suffering bodily injury or incurring property damages was not at fault, the defendants against whom judgment is entered shall be jointly and severally liable for the sum of their proportionate shares of the claimants [claimant's] total damages.))
(2) If a defendant is jointly and severally liable under ((one of)) the exception((s)) listed in subsection((s)) (1)(((a) or (1)(b))) of this section, such defendant's rights to contribution against another jointly and severally liable defendant, and the effect of settlement by either such defendant, shall be determined under RCW 4.22.040, 4.22.050, and 4.22.060.
(3)(a) Nothing in this section affects any cause of action relating to hazardous wastes or substances or solid waste disposal sites.
(b) Nothing in this section shall affect a cause of action arising from the tortious interference with contracts or business relations.
(c) Nothing in this section shall affect any cause of action arising from the manufacture or marketing of a fungible product in a generic form which contains no clearly identifiable shape, color, or marking.
Sec. 318. RCW 4.22.015 and 1981 c 27 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
"Fault" includes acts or omissions, including misuse of a product, that are in any measure negligent or reckless toward the person or property of the actor or others, or that subject a person to strict tort liability or liability on a product liability claim. The term also includes breach of warranty, unreasonable assumption of risk, and unreasonable failure to avoid an injury or to mitigate damages. Legal requirements of causal relation apply both to fault as the basis for liability and to contributory fault.
A comparison of fault for any purpose under RCW 4.22.005 through ((4.22.060))4.22.070 shall involve consideration of both the nature of the conduct of the parties to the action and the extent of the causal relation between such conduct and the damages."
Renumber the sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.
2SHB 2292 - S AMD to S AMD (S5455.1) 169
By Senator Benson
NOT ADOPTED 2/22/2006
On page 61, line 15 of the title amendment, after "7.70.100,", strike "and 7.70.080" and insert "7.70.080, 4.22.070, and 4.22.015"
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EFFECT: A defendant is responsible for only his or her share of fault unless defendants were acting in concert.