Besides affirming lawmakers’ “substantial compliance” in education funding matters, the Kansas Supreme Court took notable action in another case Friday.
By a 4-2-1 plurality vote, the Supreme Court struck down the state’s cap on non-economic damages when it comes to personal injury legal cases. The only exception is now medical malpractice actions.
Ruling in the case of Hilburn v. Enerpipe Ltd., the plurality ruled in favor of plaintiff Diana Hilburn, who was hurt in a car-truck crash and whose jury award had been reduced by the cap from over $300,000 to $250,000. The justices agreed the cap “improperly intruded upon the jury’s determination” of compensation amounts to pay for plaintiff injuries.
Justices Carol Beier, Eric Rosen and Lee Johnson were in the plurality. Justice Caleb Stegall concurred with the plurality, while Justices Marla Luckert and Dan Biles dissented and Chief Justice Lawton Nuss was not part of the decision.
