By the authority vested in me, pursuant to part II, article 44 of the New Hampshire Constitution, on July 2, 2007, I vetoed HB 143, an act relative to the apportionment of damages in civil cases.

New Hampshire’s system of comparative fault is a hybrid system that works to balance the interests of injured plaintiffs with those of defendants bearing relatively low percentages of fault for causing damages. When multiple individuals or entities are responsible for causing harm, the New Hampshire approach is to ensure that injured plaintiffs receive just compensation, and that the degree of negligence of all responsible parties is appropriately weighed when apportioning damages among the negligent parties. Injured victims should be compensated fairly, but not at the disproportionate expense of those bearing relatively minor fault.

Under New Hampshire law, for the purpose of apportioning damages in a civil case, the jury is instructed to determine the amount of damages to be awarded to each plaintiff and then allocate fault in proportionate share to anyone who contributed to the incident giving rise to the plaintiff’s injuries. Fault may be apportioned against any individual or entity who was negligent and whose conduct was a substantial factor in causing the harm - including persons or entities that are parties to the lawsuit, parties who previously settled their lawsuits, or are immune from liability, or are not otherwise before the court.

HB 143 would change existing law and allow the jury to allocate fault only between those individuals or entities that remain parties to the lawsuit at the conclusion of the trial. This change in law would prohibit the jury from apportioning fault to certain individuals or entities who carry significant degrees of fault for the plaintiff’s injuries, but who either settled claims prior to conclusion of the lawsuit, or who are not parties to a particular lawsuit for other reasons. I cannot support this change in the law because it is unfair for a defendant with a low degree of fault to have to pay a disproportionately large share of the damages.

The attorney general has testified that the passage of HB 143 will result in increased litigation costs and higher judgments borne by the taxpayers of the State of New Hampshire. I believe these concerns warrant further study.

There may be steps that we can take to better ensure that injured victims are fully compensated under the law. I remain open to considering improvements to our existing statutory system of comparative fault, apportionment of liability and contribution laws. I encourage those interested in this bill to communicate closely with one another and to continue their work next session.

Respectfully submitted,

Governor

Date: July 2, 2007