May 4, 2007

Update on Minnesota Bad Faith ‘Double Lawsuit’ Bills

As you know, personal injury lawyers in Minnesota are behind a very aggressive, self-serving effort to pass “Bad Faith” legislation that would increase frivolous lawsuits and fraudulent claims, resulting in higher costs for consumers.

Efforts to defeat the “Double Lawsuit” proposals took a positive turn this week as Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty threatened to veto a budget bill if it is sent to him with the “Bad Faith” language included.

According to NAMIC’s state trade partners, on Thursday afternoon just before a final vote in the Senate to send the Omnibus Public Safety Bill including the “Bad Faith” provisions on to the governor, Senate leadership called for a recess to discuss an unrelated provision of the bill. During the two-hour discussion, House and Senate leadership worked out an agreement with the governor’s office. The agreement being that the governor will sign the Omnibus Public Safety bill if the “Bad Faith” provisions are stripped-out. Both the House and Senate have re-referred the bill back to the conference committee. The conference committee is expected to remove the “Bad Faith” provisions and then send the bill back to the House and Senate for concurrence.

As of this writing, the House and Senate have yet to accept the conference committee report, but are expected to do so sometime today. Following House and Senate approval, a clean version of the omnibus bill (without the “Bad Faith” provisions) will be sent to the governor for signature.

This positive development does not mean the battle is over. It simply means the “Bad Faith” provisions many now be debated on their own merits and not hidden in omnibus bills. If “Bad Faith” legislation does reach the governor’s desk in any form, NAMIC and other industry advocates will request a veto.

For more details on this week’s debate, see the following links:

NAMICO, NAMIC and our state trade partners, the Minnesota Association of Farm Mutual Insurance Companies (MAFMIC) and the Insurance Federation of Minnesota (IFM), have all joined a broad-based coalition of insurers, consumers, civic and business groups formed to stop these harmful and short-sighted proposals. NAMICO has made a substantial financial contribution to Minnesotans Against Fraud and Higher Insurance Costs, and NAMIC has matched the contribution.

The coalition was formed to fund a comprehensive grassroots effort designed to inform Minnesota citizens of the severe impact these “Double Lawsuit” proposals would have on the state’s litigation environment and overall economy.

For additional information, please visit the coalition’s website at www.NoHigerRates.com.

You are receiving this NAMIC Alert because your company is a member of NAMIC.

COMMENTS: Please direct all requests or comments to Editor Lisa Floreancig at lfloreancig@namic.org, or NAMIC Advocacy Alert, 3601 Vincennes Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46268.

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