Howell Heflin: “I would like to address the Dole amendment and its relationship to other parts of the bill. The Dole amendment, of…”

“I would like to address the Dole amendment and its relationship to other parts of the bill. The Dole amendment, of course, extends the provisions of this proposed bill to all civil actions involving interstate commerce. That includes almost every automobile accident, and every conceivable type of accident, not just product liability cases. And, as we know, the language ``interstate commerce'' has been so liberally construed up until the very recent Lopez case that it includes almost any situation. There are many examples, too numerous to cite here, that can demonstrate the liberal construction of the interstate commerce clause. Let me first recite the provision not only in the Dole amendment but in the overall bill pertaining to punitive damages, that if you seek punitive damages and any party can call for a bifurcated trial which means that at the request of any party, the trier of facts, the jury, shall consider in a separate proceeding as to whether punitive damages should be awarded. By the way, bifurcated proceedings will result in an increase in transitional costs which is somewhat ironic in as much as the proponents of this legislation have maintained that one of the bill's objectives is to reduce, not increase, transactional costs. If there is evidence of punitive misconduct, it is inconceivable to me that any defendant would not take advantage of a bifurcated trial. So, all punitive damage cases will have two trials.”