AJR113: Joint Resolution Text

LRB-4541/1

PJD:jlg:jf

1999 - 2000 LEGISLATURE

1999 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 113

March 13, 2000 - Introduced by Representatives Pettis, Sykora and Petrowski. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR113,1,1 Relating to: urging Congress to pass asbestos litigation legislation.

AJR113,1,3 Whereas, there are more asbestos lawsuits in state and federal courts than any other kind of civil case today; and

AJR113,1,6 Whereas, with nearly 200,000 asbestos cases pending in state and federal courts and 30,000 to 50,000 new cases filed every year, the asbestos litigation problem is national in scope and demands a national solution; and

AJR113,1,9 Whereas, those truly injured by exposure to asbestos must wait years for compensation and find that an average of two-thirds of every dollar spent on asbestos litigation is eaten up by attorney fees and other transaction costs; and

AJR113,1,11 Whereas, more disturbing is the fact that a majority of the claims filed are by individuals who are not sick and who may simply have been exposed to asbestos; and

AJR113,1,15 Whereas, in 2 separate rulings in the past few years, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the escalating crisis in asbestos litigation, and on both occasions concluded that an administrative claims system would best serve the true victims of asbestos; and

AJR113,2,6 Whereas, in June 1999, in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ortiz v. Fibreboard, Justice Souter forcefully stated that asbestos litigation is an "elephantine mass" that "defies customary judicial administration and calls for national legislation"; and in the same ruling, Chief Justice Rehnquist echoed Justice Souter, stating that the current asbestos litigation system "cries out for a national solution"; and

AJR113,2,9 Whereas, Justice Ginsburg similarly commented in the 1997 Amchem decision that an administrative claims process "would provide the most secure, fair, and efficient means of compensating victims of asbestos exposure"; and

AJR113,2,12 Whereas, the Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act (Act) carries bipartisan support in Congress and would fairly and promptly compensate those asbestos victims who are truly sick; and

AJR113,2,15 Whereas, the key principles of the Act were originally agreed to in a class action settlement in 1994 by members of the trial bar, labor unions and former asbestos manufacturers; and

AJR113,2,19 Whereas, the U.S. Judicial Conference Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos Litigation, appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1991, found that the typical asbestos case took 31 months to wind its way to resolution through the court system, compared with 18 months for a typical liability suit; now, therefore, be it

AJR113,2,22 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the legislature of the state of Wisconsin hereby urges Congress to pass asbestos litigation legislation (H.R. 1283 and S. 758); and, be it further

AJR113,3,2 Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to the president and secretary of the U.S. senate, to the speaker and clerk of the U.S. house of representatives and to each member of the congressional delegation from this state attesting the adoption of this joint resolution by the 1999 legislature of the state of Wisconsin.

AJR113,3,3 (End)