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The state Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday is scheduled to consider legislation that advocates believe will improve the state鈥檚 civil justice system and reduce expensive litigation.

The bill, SB 1092, sponsored by Sen. Vince Leach, R-SaddleBrooke, seeks to put limits on product liability lawsuits brought against product sellers who find themselves the target of aggressive trial lawyers despite not having made any alterations to a product or doing anything else that could have caused an injury to the plaintiff.

The bill has the backing of the Arizona chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.

鈥淧roduct liability lawsuits really should be limited to manufacturers and those parties who have actively contributed to the design and production of the product,鈥� NFIB Arizona President Chad Heinrich said. 鈥淯nfortunately, the trial bar takes a much more expansive view and attempts to draw sellers into lawsuits even when the seller did nothing more than place the product on the store shelf.鈥�

A similar bill was introduced in the 2020 legislative session, but ultimately did not reach the governor鈥檚 desk after the session was cut short due to the pandemic.

Several business groups, including the Arizona Retailers Association, joined NFIB in supporting that bill, but it faced opposition from the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, the state鈥檚 plaintiffs bar advocacy group. The same groups have lined up in support and opposition to this year鈥檚 legislation.

Twenty States have adopted innocent seller statutes, from all parts of the country and varying political make-up such as Washington, Delaware, Minnesota, and New Jersey. 

鈥淎rizona has an outstanding civil justice environment, and lawmakers have done an excellent job in adopting policies that reduce expensive, time-consuming, and unfair lawsuits,鈥� Heinrich said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 always room for improvement. Just as other states have done, Arizona should pass a law that prevents innocent retailers from getting dragged into lawsuits that they shouldn鈥檛 be involved in.鈥�