103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2889

 

Introduced 1/24/2024, by Sen. Jil Tracy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading
735 ILCS 5/2-2101
735 ILCS 5/2-2102
735 ILCS 5/2-2103
735 ILCS 5/2-2104
735 ILCS 5/2-2105
735 ILCS 5/2-2106
735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5
735 ILCS 5/2-2107
735 ILCS 5/2-2108
735 ILCS 5/2-2109

    Reenacts and changes various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to product liability actions that were added by Public Act 89-7, which was held to be void in its entirety by the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367 (1997). Effective immediately.


LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2889LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Purpose.
5    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
6        (1) "An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to civil
7    actions, which may be referred to as the Civil Justice
8    Reform Amendments of 1995", Public Act 89-7, approved
9    March 9, 1995, added Part 21 to Article II of the Code of
10    Civil Procedure. Public Act 89-7 also contained other
11    provisions.
12        (2) In Best v. Taylor Machine Works, 179 Ill. 2d 367
13    (1997), the Illinois Supreme Court held that Public Act
14    89-7 was void in its entirety.
15        (3) The provisions of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21
16    to Article II of the Code of Civil Procedure are of vital
17    concern to the people of this State, and legislative
18    action concerning these provisions is necessary.
19    (b) It is the purpose of this Act to reenact the provisions
20of Public Act 89-7 adding Part 21 to Article II of the Code of
21Civil Procedure. This Act is intended to remove any questions
22as to the validity or content of those provisions.
23    (c) This Act is not intended to supersede any other Public
24Act. The reenacted material is shown as existing text (i.e.,

 

 

SB2889- 2 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1without striking or underscoring) except for the changes made
2by this Act to Section 2-2109 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
3which are shown with striking and underscoring.
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5reenacting and changing Part 21 of Article II as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/Art. II Pt. 21 heading)
7
Part 21. Product Liability

 
8    (735 ILCS 5/2-2101)
9    Sec. 2-2101. Definitions. For purposes of this Part, the
10terms listed have the following meanings:
11    "Clear and convincing evidence" means that measure or
12degree of proof that will produce in the mind of the trier of
13fact a high degree of certainty as to the truth of the
14allegations sought to be established. This evidence requires a
15greater degree of persuasion than is necessary to meet the
16preponderance of the evidence standard.
17    "Harm" means (i) damage to property other than the product
18itself; (ii) personal physical injury, illness, or death;
19(iii) mental anguish or emotional harm to the extent
20recognized by applicable law; (iv) any loss of consortium or
21services; or (v) other loss deriving from any type of harm
22described in item (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv).
23    "Manufacturer" means (i) any person who is engaged in a

 

 

SB2889- 3 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1business to design or formulate and to produce, create, make,
2or construct any product or component part of a product; (ii) a
3product seller with respect to all component parts of a
4product or a component part of a product that is created or
5affected when, before placing the product in the stream of
6commerce, the product seller designs or formulates and
7produces, creates, makes, or constructs an aspect of a product
8or a component part of a product made by another; or (iii) any
9product seller not described in (ii) that holds itself out as a
10manufacturer to the user of the product.
11    "Product liability action" means a civil action brought on
12any theory against a manufacturer or product seller for harm
13caused by a product.
14    "Product seller" means a person who, in the course of a
15business conducted for that purpose, sells, distributes,
16leases, installs, prepares, blends, packages, labels, markets,
17repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in placing a
18product in the stream of commerce.
19(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
20    (735 ILCS 5/2-2102)
21    Sec. 2-2102. Effect on other laws. Except as may be
22provided by other laws, any civil action that conforms to the
23definition of a product liability action as defined in Section
242-2101 of this Part shall be governed by the provisions of this
25Part.

 

 

SB2889- 4 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
2    (735 ILCS 5/2-2103)
3    Sec. 2-2103. Federal and State standards; presumption. In
4a product liability action, a product or product component
5shall be presumed to be reasonably safe if the aspect of the
6product or product component that allegedly caused the harm
7was specified or required, or if the aspect is specifically
8exempted for particular applications or users, by a federal or
9State statute or regulation promulgated by an agency of the
10federal or State government responsible for the safety or use
11of the product before the product was distributed into the
12stream of commerce.
13(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
14    (735 ILCS 5/2-2104)
15    Sec. 2-2104. No practical and feasible alternative design;
16presumption. If the design of a product or product component
17is in issue in a product liability action, the design shall be
18presumed to be reasonably safe unless, at the time the product
19left the control of the manufacturer, a practical and
20technically feasible alternative design was available that
21would have prevented the harm without significantly impairing
22the usefulness, desirability, or marketability of the product.
23An alternative design is practical and feasible if the
24technical, medical, or scientific knowledge relating to safety

 

 

SB2889- 5 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1of the alternative design was, at the time the product left the
2control of the manufacturer, available and developed for
3commercial use and acceptable in the marketplace.
4(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
5    (735 ILCS 5/2-2105)
6    Sec. 2-2105. Changes in design or warning;
7inadmissibility. When measures are taken which, if taken
8previously, would have made an event less likely to occur,
9evidence of the subsequent measures is not admissible to prove
10a defect in a product, negligence, or culpable conduct in
11connection with the event. In a product liability action
12brought under any theory or doctrine, if the feasibility of a
13design change or change in warnings is not controverted, then
14a subsequent design change or change in warnings shall not be
15admissible into evidence. This rule does not require the
16exclusion of evidence of subsequent measures when offered for
17another purpose such as proving ownership, control, or
18impeachment.
19(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
20    (735 ILCS 5/2-2106)
21    Sec. 2-2106. Provision of written warnings to users of
22product; nonliability.
23    (a) The warning, instructing, or labeling of a product or
24specific product component shall be deemed to be adequate if

 

 

SB2889- 6 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1pamphlets, booklets, labels, or other written warnings were
2provided that gave adequate notice to reasonably anticipated
3users or knowledgeable intermediaries of the material risks of
4injury, death, or property damage connected with the
5reasonably anticipated use of the product and instructions as
6to the reasonably anticipated uses, applications, or
7limitations of the product anticipated by the defendant.
8    (b) In the defense of a product liability action,
9warnings, instructions or labeling shall be deemed to be
10adequate if the warnings, instructions or labels furnished
11with the product were in conformity with the generally
12recognized standards in the industry at the time the product
13was distributed into the stream of commerce.
14    (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a defendant
15shall not be liable for failure to warn of material risks that
16were obvious to a reasonably prudent product user and material
17risks that were a matter of common knowledge to persons in the
18same position as or similar positions to that of the plaintiff
19in a product liability action.
20    (d) In any product liability action brought against a
21manufacturer or product seller for harm allegedly caused by a
22failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions, a
23defendant manufacturer or product seller shall not be liable
24if, at the time the product left the control of the
25manufacturer, the knowledge of the danger that caused the harm
26was not reasonably available or obtainable in light of

 

 

SB2889- 7 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1existing scientific, technical, or medical information.
2(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
3    (735 ILCS 5/2-2106.5)
4    Sec. 2-2106.5. Inherent characteristics of products;
5nonliability. In a product liability action, a manufacturer or
6product seller shall not be liable for harm allegedly caused
7by a product if the alleged harm was caused by an inherent
8characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the
9product that cannot be eliminated without substantially
10compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and
11which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary
12knowledge common to the community.
13(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
14    (735 ILCS 5/2-2107)
15    Sec. 2-2107. Punitive damages. In a product liability
16action, punitive damages shall not be awarded against a
17manufacturer or product seller if the conduct of the defendant
18manufacturer, seller, or reseller that allegedly caused the
19harm was approved by or was in compliance with standards set
20forth in an applicable federal or State statute or in a
21regulation or other administrative action promulgated by an
22agency of the federal or State government responsible for the
23safety or use of the product, which statute or regulation was
24in effect at the time of the manufacturer's or product

 

 

SB2889- 8 -LRB103 38054 JRC 68186 b

1seller's alleged misconduct, unless the plaintiff proves by
2clear and convincing evidence that the manufacturer or product
3seller intentionally withheld from or misrepresented to
4Congress, the State legislature, or the relevant federal or
5State agency material information relative to the safety or
6use of the product that would or could have resulted in a
7changed decision relative to the law, standard, or other
8administrative action.
9(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
10    (735 ILCS 5/2-2108)
11    Sec. 2-2108. No cause of action created. Nothing in this
12Part shall be construed to create a cause of action.
13(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
14    (735 ILCS 5/2-2109)
15    Sec. 2-2109. This amendatory Act of the 103rd General
16Assembly 1995 adding Part 21 to the Code of Civil Procedure
17applies to causes of action accruing on or after its effective
18date.
19(Source: P.A. 89-7, eff. 3-9-95.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.