The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1417 on causes of action and damages sponsored by Sen. Baldwin and Sen. Garten and authored by Rep. Lehman and Rep. Snow. The bill:
- Limits a civil cause of action concerning a public nuisance.
- Limitations shall not affect local administrative code or ordinance, unless the code or ordinance provides for a civil cause of action and is in conflict with certain provisions.
- Provide that the award of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses may not total more than $100,000 (rather than $5,000) if a recipient does not accept a qualified settlement offer and the final judgment is less favorable to the recipient than the terms of the qualified settlement offer.
The Committee amended the bill by consent to:
- Allow only one public nuisance action may be brought based on the same or substantially similar set of facts.
- “Governmental entity” means the state of Indiana or a state agency and does not mean a political subdivision, municipality, or unit.
The Committee amended the bill by vote 10-1 to:
- Establish a tort reform commission with fifteen members (set out in the bill) as a temporary executive branch commission to review (1) civil causes of action in Indiana Code, (2) civil cases filed in Indiana, and (3) tort reform generally, including review of the constitutionality and adjustment of damages, civil immunities, court statistics, trial rules, and public safety.
The Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Indiana representative of the National Federation of Independent Business, and an attorney testified in support of the bill. An attorney testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 7-4.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1417/