Day on Torts
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that the State’s $350,000 cap on non-economic losses is unconstitutional under the State’s equal protection clause.
An excerpt: “The court must presume that the legislature’s judgment was sound and look for support for the legislative act. But the court cannot accept rationales so broad and speculative that they justify any enactment. “[W]hile the connection between means and ends need not be precise, it, at least, must have some objective basis.[Footnote omitted.] While we adhere to the concept of judicial restraint that cautions against substituting judicial opinion for the will of the legislature, we do not abdicate judicial responsibility. To hold that a rational basis exists for the $350,000 statutory cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases would amount to applying a judicial rubber stamp to an unconstitutional statute.”
More later – I have got to get to work.