Montana Issues

Third-Party Litigation Financing

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Phantom Damages Reform – S.B. 251

Montana|2021

Addresses both the definition of recoverable damages and the evidence

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Addresses both the definition of recoverable damages and the evidence admissible to establish the value of medical treatment. Establishes that the reasonable value of past treatment cannot exceed the amounts actually paid to the provider. For future treatment or services that have been rendered but are still owed, the reasonable value cannot exceed the amounts necessary to satisfy the charges. Admissible evidence to show the value of past medical treatment under the bill includes only the sums paid to satisfy the providers’ charges; amounts discounted or written off cannot be considered. Evidence addressing the value of treatment for which payment is still owed or future medical care cannot include figures exceeding what providers would receive if the claims were submitted to a health insurer or government-sponsored program that covers the plaintiff. Finally, the bill abrogates the common law collateral source rule as it applies to medical expense damages.

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Unchallenged

Collateral Source Rule Reform: HB 567 (1987).

Montana|1987

Permits the admissibility of evidence of collateral source payments, unless

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Permits the admissibility of evidence of collateral source payments, unless the source of reimbursement has a subrogation right under state or federal law. Requires a court to offset damages over $50,000.

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Reforms View All »

Joint and Several Liability Reform: HB 571 (1997)

Montana|1997

Retains the current system of modified joint and several liability,

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Retains the current system of modified joint and several liability, where joint liability does not apply to defendants found to be less than 50% at fault. Revises the comparative negligence statute to permit the allocation of a percentage of liability to defendants who settle or are released from liability by the plaintiff. Allows those defendants to intervene in the action to defend against claims affirmatively asserted. Provides that joint liability shall apply in actions arising from an act or omission that violates a state environmental law relating to hazardous or deleterious substances.

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Unchallenged

Joint and Several Liability Reform: HB 572 (1997)

Montana|1997

Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability

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Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages. Takes effect only if HB 571 is held unconstitutional.

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Unchallenged

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Medical Liability Reform- Expert Witness Standards: H.B. 64 (2005)

Montana|2005

Provided that an expert witness: must be a licensed health

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Provided that an expert witness: must be a licensed health care provider in at least one state; routinely treat or routinely treated within the previous five years the subject matter of the malpractice claim; and demonstrate a familiarity with the standards of care and practice as related to the subject matter of the malpractice claim. In cases involving treatment recommended by a physician, an expert witness may not testify on issues of negligence or standards of care unless the witness is also a physician. In addition, a witness qualified as an expert in a medical specialty that is unrelated to the malpractice claim may only testify if it can be proven that the standards of care and practice in the two specialties are substantially similar.

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Unchallenged

Medical Liability Reform- Expressions of Sympathy: H.B. 24 (2005)

Montana|2005

Provided that statements of sympathy, apology, etc. by medical providers

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Provided that statements of sympathy, apology, etc. by medical providers are inadmissible as evidence of liability in medical liability cases.

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Unchallenged

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Comprehensive Products Liability Reform – S.B. 216

Montana|2023

Montana – 2023

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Enables defendants to raise a comparative fault defense when the plaintiff asserts a strict product liability claim.
Expands the statutory misuse defense to include use of the product at issue in a manner that contravenes an express warning or instruction provided with the product
Establishes an affirmative defense that the product at issue could not have been made safer by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design or manufacturing process that was available at the time the product was first used
Creates a 10-year statute of repose
Establishes a rebuttable presumption that the product was not defective and that the seller was not negligent if the product complied with mandatory government safety statutes, regulations, or standards applicable to the product at issue and pertinent to the characteristics that allegedly caused the injury
Provides protection against product liability lawsuits for sellers who are not also manufacturers of the product at issue.

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Unchallenged

Product Liability Reform: SB 380 (1987).

Montana|1987

Provides statutory defenses to product liability claims, including assumption of

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Provides statutory defenses to product liability claims, including assumption of the risk and misuse of product.

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Reforms View All »

Punitive Damages Reform: HB 212 (2003); Amended Mont. Code Anno., § 27-1-221 (2010).

Montana|2003

Brings Montana statute into conformity with Supreme Court decision that

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Brings Montana statute into conformity with Supreme Court decision that punitive damages may be awarded by a two-thirds verdict rather than the previous requirement that punitive damages awards must be unanimous. In Finstad v. W.R. Grace & Co., 2000 MT 228, 301 Mont. 240, 8 P.3d 778 (2000), the Montana Supreme Court held that the portion of section 27-1-221(6), MCA, which requires that an award of punitive damages must be unanimous as to liability and amount, violates Article II, section 26, of the Montana Constitution, guaranteeing a verdict by a two-thirds majority in all civil cases.

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Punitive Damages Reform: SB 363 (2003): Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-220.

Montana|2003

Limits punitive damages, unless otherwise expressed by statute, to $10

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Limits punitive damages, unless otherwise expressed by statute, to $10 million or 3 percent of a defendant’s net worth, whichever is less. It does not limit the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in class action lawsuits.

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Miscellaneous

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Time Limited Demands – S.B. 236

Montana|2023

Montana – 2023

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Establishes the standards to be satisfied by a third-party claimant when delivering a time-limited demand to an insurer. This includes requiring the third-party to deliver all supporting documents, records, and relevant information to provide the insurer with a fair and reasonable opportunity to investigate and evaluate the claims presented without the risk of having unfair settlement claim practices or insurance bad faith claim alleged against the insurer.

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Unchallenged

Third Party Bad Faith Reform – S.B. 165

Montana|2023

Montana – 2023

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Amends the state’s bad faith law to prevent a third-party claimant from bringing an action for bad faith in connection with the handling of an insurance claim. A third-party may bring a claim for fraud if they have suffered damages from the handling of an insurance claim but it cannot be under any other theory or cause of action.

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Unchallenged

Latest News

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Montana AG Sues National Association of Attorneys General

Press Releases

As NAAG Continues to Focus on Entrepreneurial Litigation, It Could Face More Lawsuits

Liability Reform Bills Prioritized and Signed in Montana

Press Releases

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signs key bills aimed at improving the state’s civil justice system.

Transparency A Priority For Montana AG Candidate

Press Releases

ATRA reports Montana attorney general candidate Austin Knudsen signed its AG Transparency Code pledge.

SCOTUS to Rule on Jurisdiction After State Courts Ignore Guidance

Press Releases

ATRA urges SCOTUS to push back the on overly expansive approaches to jurisdiction shown by courts in Minnesota and Montana.

Supreme Court’s Adoption of Novel Theories of Liability, Abusive ‘No-Injury’ Litigation, Place California atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List

Press Releases

Supreme Court’s Adoption of Novel Theories of Liability, Abusive ‘No-Injury’ Litigation, Place California atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List Nine Jurisdictions, Courts, and Legislatures Named Nation’s “Most Unfair” Dec. 4, 2018 […]

ATRA Cheers SCOTUS Term’s Jurisdiction-Case ‘Trifecta’

Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2017 – With today’s announced decision of a third significant jurisdictional case by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, the American Tort Reform Association applauded the […]

Third-Party Litigation Financing

Phantom Damages Reform

Appeal Bond Reform

Joint and Several Liability

Medical Liability Reform

Noneconomic Damages Reform

Product Liability

Punitive Damages

Miscellaneous

Latest News

View all news

Montana AG Sues National Association of Attorneys General

Liability Reform Bills Prioritized and Signed in Montana

Transparency A Priority For Montana AG Candidate

SCOTUS to Rule on Jurisdiction After State Courts Ignore Guidance

Supreme Court’s Adoption of Novel Theories of Liability, Abusive ‘No-Injury’ Litigation, Place California atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List

ATRA Cheers SCOTUS Term’s Jurisdiction-Case ‘Trifecta’