 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Craftsman Builder's Supply Inc. v. Butler Manufacturing Co.3/5/1999
of jurisdictions that interpret their open courts provisions procedurally reveals that the legislatures in those states have not declared war on common law causes of action. Commentators on remedies provisions have made the same observation. See, e.g., John H. Bauman, supra, at 276 (" ew common law causes of action have ever been abolished outright."). Thus, I trust that the legislature would bear its burden responsibly.
To summarize, I conclude that the open courts provision is a procedural guarantee. Because the open courts provision does not place substantive limitations on the legislature, the legislature may eliminate a cause of action, narrow the factual circumstances that will give rise to any particular cause of action, or limit the remedies available for a legal injury . Of course, the power of the legislature to make such changes in the law is limited by other constitutional provisions, including article I, section 7 (due process clause); article I, section 22 (takings clause); article I, section 24 (uniform operation); and article XVI, section 5 (wrongful death actions). See, e.g., Bott v. DeLand, 922 P.2d 732, 744 (Utah 1996) (striking down statutory cap on damages under article I, section 9); Lee v. Gaufin, 867 P.2d 572, 589 (Utah 1993) (striking down statute of repose under article I, section 24). Furthermore, the legislature is also constrained in that it cannot make modifications affecting vested rights. That is, once the right to an action vests, the legislature is not free to thereafter eliminate the cause of action. As we stated in Sun Valley:
" nce a cause of action under a particular rule of law accrues to a person by virtue of an injury to his rights, that person's interest in the cause of action and the law which is the basis for a legal action becomes vested, and a legislative repeal of the law cannot constitutionally divest the injured person of the right to litigate the cause of action to a judgment." 782 P.2d at 192 (quoting Berry, 717 P.2d at 676); see also Payne v. Myers, 743 P.2d 186, 190 (Utah 1987). I note that this exception to the legislature's ability to change the law is nearly universal. See David Schuman, supra, at 1206.
The procedural protection afforded by article I, section 11 is not empty. I conclude that it prohibits both the courts and the legislature from closing the doors of the courts to any person who has a legal right to vindicate. Applying the open courts provision's procedural limitations on the legislature is consistent with our pre-Berry cases. While these early cases concentrated on the procedural requirements of article I, section 11, they did not limit that provision to being a mere mandate to the courts to provide due process. In 1914, in Union Savings & Investment Co. v. District Court, we stated, "[Article I, section 11] is merely a reiteration of the pre-existing common-law right [that courts must be open] with a limitation preventing the Legislature from in any way impairing or curtailing that right." 140 P. 221, 225 (Utah 1914) (emphasis added). Similarly, the court in Brown v. Wightman stated that article I, section 11 "plac a limitation upon the Legislature to prevent that branch of the state government from closing the doors of the courts against any person who has a legal right which is enforceable in accordance with some known remedy." 47 Utah at 34, 151 P. at 366-67 (emphasis added). These statements from Union Savings & Investment Co. and Brown concentrate on article I, section 11's command that " ll courts must be open," and impose this command to limit the legislature. Though this limitation on the legislature is inconsistent with the interpretation that remedies provisions are directed only to the judici
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|