The HBAA would like to offer a special thanks to Representative Randy Wood of Anniston for his hard work in getting HB 179 placed on the calendar for Tuesday.  As a member of the Rules Committee, Randy offered to use his slot to include the HBAA's bill as part of the calendar.  Rep. Wood is a staunch ally and friend who understands the home building industry and its importance to Alabama's economy.

The HBAA would also like to thank the Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Rep. Blaine Galliher.  Developing a calendar for the day's activities in the House is an extremely trying job.  Balancing all of the competing interests and agendas is a daily chore for the chairman and the HBAA is appreciative of all his efforts on behalf of Alabama's home building industry.

Senator Scott Beason's

Immigration Reform bill passed the Senate on Tuesday.  The HBAA would like to thank Senator Beason for working closely with the HBAA and other business groups to address their concerns.  Although the bill will result in a significant change in the way contractors and their sub-contractors conduct business, the bill does address a number of the most critical concerns.

Under this bill, Alabama employers would be prohibited under state law from knowingly employing an unauthorized alien.  Employers may use E-Verify to check the employability of a person, or they may use any valid and lawful government issued document that establishes that the person is not an unauthorized alien.  If a government issued document is used to verify employment eligibility, the employer must retain a copy of the front and back of that document throughout the course of the person's employment.  Under this provision, a business that properly and in good faith complies with the I-9 requirements under federal law will comply with Alabama's requirements as well.  The bill provides protection to employers from lawsuits filed by individuals terminated in order to comply with this law.  Additionally, employers are responsible for their employees only.

The Alabama Senate held a "Tort Day" on Tuesday, where they passed the four ACJRC tort bills, a statute of repose bill for architects, engineers and contractors and a bill to limit liability for landowners.  In all, the Senate seemed well versed on the bills and there was little debate.  A number of Senators thanked Judiciary Committee Co-Chairs Ben Brooks and Cam Ward for their leadership and negotiating skills in getting these bills through the process.

Product Liability Reform

SB 184, by Sen. Ben Brooks (R) of Mobile, is known as the Alabama Small Business Protection Act.  The bill would add protection for Alabama's retailers against product liability suits.  The suits are aimed at the manufacturers, but often the trial lawyers sue Alabama retailers, wholesalers and distributors as defendants even though they did not participate in the manufacture or design of the product.  This is done in some instances solely to allow the plaintiff to file suit in counties favorable to plaintiffs and keep an out-of-state manufacturer in an Alabama state court and out of federal court.  These suits cost Alabama businesses time and money while the true target of the suit is the manufacturer or designer of the product.  If, on the other hand, the suit is brought against a retailer or distributor because the manufacturer is unknown and the retailer or distributor is needed in order to provide discovery concerning the manufacturer's identity, the bill provides a mechanism to accomplish this in a reasonable manner so that suit can then proceed against the appropriate manufacturer.

Post Judgment Interest Reform

SB 207, by Sen. Cam Ward (R) of Alabaster, would change the rate of interest on judgments in Alabama from 12% to 7.5%.  Under current Alabama law, if a defendant loses a lawsuit and chooses to appeal, he must begin paying 12% post-judgment interest on the amount the court or jury awarded the plaintiff, creating a significant financial deterrent to appealing an unjust verdict.  This helps prevent the cost of money from dramatically impacting a defendant's decision whether or not to appeal a verdict. A survey of states in the southeast demonstrates that Alabama's rate is out of step with the 10 states surveyed.  Five had flat rates like Alabama and Alabama's 12% is the highest.  Five used variable rates similar to the federal standard and are substantially lower than Alabama's 12%.

Wrongful Death Venue Reform

SB 212, by Sen. Clay Scofield (R) of Guntersville, prohibits "forum shopping" of wrongful death actions by requiring that a suit can be brought only in the county where the decedent could have filed suit. This will prevent the current practice of finding a personal representative in a plaintiff-favorable county solely for purposes of obtaining venue there due to the residency of the personal representative.  For example, if a person lives in Shelby County and dies in Shelby County, the bill would require a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed in Shelby County.  Under current law, the family of the deceased could retain a lawyer in Macon County to be the personal representative of the deceased and the suit could be filed in Macon County.

Junk Science/Expert Witness Reform

SB 187, by Sen. Ben Brooks (R) of Mobile, adopts Daubert and adopts a later US Supreme Court decision, Joiner. Together these cases established a framework for admitting scientific expert testimony in order to preclude introduction of "junk science" into courtrooms. The federal three-part test for courts to use in determining whether to admit scientific expert testimony has been adopted in full and allows the courts to exclude unreliable testimony or even testimony that may draw from reliable procedures and principles, but whose conclusions are unsupportable. This permits the full breadth of Daubert and Joiner to now be applied in Alabama courtrooms as it is in all federal courtrooms and a majority of other states.