Court Upholds Ohio Tort Reform

The Supreme Court of Ohio has chosen to uphold a state law requiring courts to split, or bifurcate, civil cases into two separate proceedings for compensatory and punitive damages.

In a 5-2 vote, the state Supreme Court validated a law approved by state legislators in 2005 that requires two phases for civil trials – one in which a jury decides whether to award the plaintiff compensatory damages, or compensation for losses, such as payments for medical bills or skipped work days, and another in which the jury chooses whether to award the plaintiff punitive damages, meant to punish the defendant for wrongdoing.

A plaintiff had claimed only the Ohio Supreme Court has the authority to enact procedural rules for trials.