ADDRESSING THE
NEED FOR TORT REFORM
WHEREAS, in recent years the annual cost of tort settlements and
judgments that cities have had to pay out has skyrocketed, even reaching into
tens of millions of dollars for some cities; and
WHEREAS, in some cases, the high costs of tort settlements and judgments
for cities are due in part to judgments that far exceed the harm caused; and
WHEREAS, in other cases, cities are made responsible for the costs of
large federal judgments against individual local government employees based on
their willful misconduct even though the local government has a system in place
to discipline employees for their misconduct; and
WHEREAS, resources that cities must devote to frivolous tort litigation
and tort settlements and judgments could otherwise be available for other
important public purposes, and ultimately, the costs of such tort settlements
and judgments are generally borne by local taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, in some cases, cities are being forced to pay tort settlements
and judgments under federal laws that Congress has the power to change without
infringing on state tort law or state prerogatives; and
WHEREAS, the issue of tort liability in the private sector has also been
the subject of much debate in recent years,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors
hereby urges Congress to enact tort reform legislation directing the judicial
system to emphasize appropriate compensation for victims in actions against
municipalities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges
Congress to enact legislation to ensure that federal judgments against
individual local government employees based on their willful misconduct are
collectable only from those employees, and not from their governmental
employers, at least when the local government has a reasonable system in place
to discipline employees for their misconduct; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors hereby
urges Congress to enact legislation limiting awards of attorney’s fees in
actions against municipalities under federal law to amounts that are
appropriately proportionate, so that spurious claims do not permit plaintiffs’
attorneys to obtain unjust awards; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors
encourages Congress and the Administration to work towards removing the
partisanship and subjectivity from the broader debate over tort liability, and
to strive for objective tort reform that ensures continued access to the courts
for victims while also protecting against excessive awards that can harm the
economic base of our communities.
©2004 U.S. Conference of Mayors 