Last week, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the Tort Reform bill into law. Instead of passing a comprehensive tort reform package, the legislature only agreed to pass changes to the joint and several laws and liquor liability in H.3430.
“Improving the legal climate for our members is the goal. With the passage of this legislation, we’ve made the most progress we’ve seen in 15 years, but it’s still not enough. We’ll continue to push for more when the legislature returns in January,” said Leslie Clark, CAGC COO & SC Director of Government Relations.
H.3430, as enacted, does the following:
- Removes gross negligence from the joint and several liability exceptions.
- Only conduct that is willful, wanton, or intentional now triggers full liability. (South Carolina courts recognize willful and wanton conduct as requiring a higher degree of culpability than gross negligence. This is a major shift and a huge step toward fairness.)
- All parties, including non-defendants, can now be added to the jury verdict form. (This means blame can finally be properly apportioned to the ones who caused the harm but are not in the courtroom.)
- Preserves the "empty chair" defense, allows for setoffs, and enables defendants to add additional tortfeasors to the case if needed.
- For incidents involving DUIs, a licensee cannot be held liable for more than fifty percent of the plaintiff’s damages
This act takes effect January 1, 2026, and applies only to causes of action or claims arising or accruing after January 1, 2026, and applies to all policies issued after that date, other than Section 61-4-523 which takes effect upon approval by the Governor. A summary of the bill is below.