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90_SB0357
735 ILCS 5/Art. II, Part 23 heading new
735 ILCS 5/2-2301 new
735 ILCS 5/2-2305 new
735 ILCS 5/2-2310 new
Amends the "Civil Practice" Article of the Code of Civil
Procedure. Provides that in a product liability action the
plaintiff may not use the manufacturer's product safety
analysis or review or consideration of reasonable remedial
measures to prove negligence, that the product was defective
or unreasonably dangerous, or other culpable action or to
prove conduct that would subject the manufacturer to punitive
or exemplary damages. Allows use of that evidence for
purposes of impeachment. Provides for discovery of that
evidence. Effective January 1, 1998.
LRB9002849DJcd
LRB9002849DJcd
1 AN ACT to amend the Code of Civil Procedure by adding
2 Part 23 of Article II.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
6 adding Part 23 of Article II as follows:
7 (735 ILCS 5/Art. II, Part 23 heading new)
8 PART 23. PRODUCT SAFETY
9 ANALYSIS INCENTIVES
10 (735 ILCS 5/2-2301 new)
11 Sec. 2-2301. Part short title. This Part 23 may be
12 cited as the Product Safety Analysis Incentives Law.
13 (735 ILCS 5/2-2305 new)
14 Sec. 2-2305. Definitions. In this Act:
15 "Manufacturer" means a person or entity that designs,
16 assembles, fabricates, produces, constructs, or otherwise
17 prepares a product or component part of a product prior to
18 its sale to a user or consumer, including a seller owned in
19 whole or significant part by the manufacturer or seller
20 owning the manufacturer in whole or significant part.
21 "Product" means the individual product or any component
22 part of such product that is the subject of a product
23 liability action.
24 "Product liability action" means any action, under any
25 legal theory, brought against a manufacturer or seller of a
26 product for damages for emotional harm, bodily injury, death,
27 property damage, direct economic loss, or indirect economic
28 loss caused by or resulting from the manufacture,
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1 construction, design, formula, installation, preparation,
2 assembly, testing, packaging, labeling, sale, use, or
3 consumption of any product, the failure to warn or protect
4 against a danger or hazard in the use or misuse of the
5 product, or the failure to provide instructions for the use
6 or consumption of any product.
7 "Product safety analysis or review" means any
8 investigation, inquiry, review, evaluation, or other means by
9 which a manufacturer seeks to determine, calculate, predict,
10 estimate, evaluate, or report the safety or health effects of
11 the use of any of its products, systems, services, or
12 processes. Product safety analysis or review includes an
13 analysis or review by a component manufacturer of the safety
14 and health effects of component parts in end products. A
15 product safety analysis or review may be conducted by
16 employees of the manufacturer or by consultants engaged
17 specifically to perform the analysis or review.
18 "Reasonable remedial measures" means actions taken as a
19 result of a product safety analysis or review that are
20 intended to improve the safety of products, systems,
21 services, or processes or to lessen the likelihood of a
22 safety-related accident. These actions include:
23 (1) Modifications to the product, system, service,
24 or process.
25 (2) Changes in quality assurance procedures or
26 policies.
27 (3) Modifications made to the design or method of
28 manufacturing, to manufacturing equipment, or to the
29 testing of the product, system, service, or process.
30 (4) Changes or additions to training programs or
31 safety education programs.
32 (5) Personnel or human resources measures related
33 to the product, system, service, or process.
34 (6) The use or modification of warnings, notices,
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1 or changes to owner manuals and related materials.
2 (7) The recall of products.
3 "Reasonably foreseeable alteration, modification, use, or
4 consumption" means an alteration, modification, use, or
5 consumption of the product that would be expected of an
6 ordinary and prudent purchaser, user, or consumer and that an
7 ordinary and prudent manufacturer should have anticipated.
8 "Seller" means a manufacturer, including a wholesaler,
9 distributor, retailer, or lessor, engaged in the business or
10 leasing any product or selling any product for resale, use,
11 or consumption.
12 (735 ILCS 5/2-2310 new)
13 Sec. 2-2310. Evidentiary limitation; discovery.
14 (a) If a manufacturer conducts a product safety analysis
15 or review, the provisions of this Section shall apply to a
16 product liability action brought against the manufacturer.
17 (b) The plaintiff may not use the manufacturer's product
18 safety analysis or review or consideration of reasonable
19 remedial measures to prove negligence, that the product was
20 defective or unreasonably dangerous, or other culpable
21 conduct in a product liability action. The plaintiff may use
22 the product safety analysis or review or consideration of
23 reasonable remedial measures if offered to impeach a witness
24 for the manufacturer who expressly denies the feasibility of
25 remedial measures or safety improvements.
26 (c) This Section does not prevent a plaintiff in a
27 product liability action from proving negligence, that the
28 product was defective or unreasonably dangerous, or other
29 culpable conduct by other independent evidence or sources,
30 even if such evidence or sources are mentioned or included in
31 a manufacturer's product safety analysis or review or
32 reasonable remedial measures.
33 (d) The plaintiff may not use a manufacturer's product
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1 safety analysis or review or consideration or implementation
2 of remedial measures to prove conduct that would subject the
3 manufacturer to punitive or exemplary damages.
4 (e) The existence and contents of a manufacturer's
5 product safety analysis or review or implementation of
6 remedial measures, if relevant, are discoverable and subject
7 to disclosure in a product liability action unless otherwise
8 privileged. A portion of a manufacturer's product safety
9 analysis or review may be designated and maintained as
10 confidential and protected from public disclosure pursuant to
11 applicable rules of civil procedure if the portion involves
12 trade secrets as defined in Section 2 of the Illinois Trade
13 Secrets Act, proprietary material, or competitively sensitive
14 information. Any dispute as to confidentiality shall be
15 determined by a court following an in camera review of the
16 portion of the manufacturer's product safety analysis or
17 review.
18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
19 January 1, 1998.