Before the Senate Insurance Committee, the Ohio Chamber gave proponent testimony on Senate Bill 63 because it seeks to stop the overnaming of businesses in asbestos lawsuits. Overnaming is a litigation tactic employed by trial lawyers that brings dozens and even a hundred businesses into a single lawsuit alleging an asbestos exposure. This harmful practice is problematic because countless businesses that have no connection to the alleged exposure have to utilize their insurance coverage or pay an attorney to get their business removed from the lawsuit, when the business should have never been named in the first place.
The Ohio Chamber supports Senate Bill 63 because the legislation calls for plaintiff attorneys to provide information about the nature of the alleged asbestos exposure at the outset of the litigation. This pre-discovery disclosure will result in fewer businesses being named in asbestos lawsuits since the plaintiff is required to show the factual basis for why the party was named as a defendant. This requirement will not allow the responsible party or parties to escape liability and the plaintiff’s available remedies remain the same under Senate Bill 63, so the bill does not diminish a plaintiff’s right to seek redress for their injury or limit the monetary award they may receive because the pre-discovery disclosures.
Joining the Ohio Chamber in support of the legislation was the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice, and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
Senate Bill 63 remains in Senate Insurance Committee where a third hearing is expected in the weeks to come.