Tort Reform Declared Unconstitutional...Now What?

What happened?

As most of you know, this morning, Judge Larsen issued a written ruling declaring damage caps unconstitutional. The Tort Reform Act included caps on non-economic damages as well as numerous other provisions (i.e., 2-622 changes, expert qualification changes, insurance regulations, apology provision, etc.). Judge Larsen did not address the plaintiffs' other constitutional challenges to the Tort Reform Act, but rather, declared the entire Act invalid because it had an inseverability provision. Therefore, all of the provisions that were part of Tort Reform are now invalid.


Now what?

The defendants will be able to appeal directly to the Illinois Supreme Court, as opposed to seeking review with the Appellate Court first. It is hard to predict how quickly that will occur, but I suspect it will take about a year.


What are the chances of succeeding on appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court?

Not very good. The Court is currently comprised of three Republicans and four Democrats. Generally speaking, Republicans usually favor tort reform and Democrats are usually against it. There is a strong possibility that one of the Democrats will not partake in the decision due to a potential conflict of interest. If the justices vote along party lines, there will be a 4-3 vote against Tort Reform (affirming Judge Larsen's ruling) or a 4-2 vote, which would likewise affirm Judge Larsen's ruling. It would take a majority vote to reverse Judge Larsen, which is extremely unlikely.