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Trujillo v. City of Albuquerque8/27/1990
ive alternatives" is material to the determination of whether the classification substantially furthers an important governmental interest.
-- Facts were not developed sufficiently to allow a determination of substantial relationship between classification and important governmental interest. Given the nature of the substantial relationship requirement as applied to the issues in this case, we do not believe a reviewing court should content itself merely with anecdotal or speculative showings of a fit between means and ends. See (per curiam) (declining to accept certification by federal district court of equal protection challenge to damage cap in Medical Malpractice Act when facts had not been developed at trial to show whether damage cap was substantially related to important governmental interest); see also Sibley, 477 So. 2d at 1109 (proponent of constitutionality of statute discriminating between tort victims on the basis of their physical condition was obliged to produce evidence to establish that classification at issue substantially furthered a legitimate state interest); Jones, 97 Idaho at 871-74, 555 P.2d at 411-14 (remanding for full development of record as to any real health care industry crisis to which a cap on medical malpractice recoveries may bear a fair and substantial relationship).
Here, the individual damage cap in the Tort Claims Act discriminates between tort victims, first, on the basis of the identity of the tortfeasor and, second, on the basis of the amount of damages. On the basis of this classification, the legislature chose to burden the interests of only those individual tort victims whose injuries are caused by a governmental tortfeasor and whose damages exceed $300,000 for all claims. Cf. (on classifications created by damage cap under the dram shop act).
It may appear obvious that the victims of governmental torts who suffer catastrophic injury place the greatest drain on the treasury individually, and that the damage cap therefore is substantially related to the goal of protecting governmental funds for other services. However, this obvious proposition does not establish whether large damage awards to such individuals would create a real problem for entities of state government, or the extent of that problem. Nor does this proposition establish the effect on the state treasury of the claims of this class of tort victims in the aggregate as compared to the aggregated claims of those with individual claims of $300,000 or less. These latter questions
must be answered if we are to determine whether the individual damage cap substantially advances the state's chosen goal. While it may be that in other cases this Court can assess whether a substantial nexus exists between legislative means and ends without the benefit of such an evidentiary record, here the government's putative goal inextricably is tied to the risk of large damage awards. The existence, nature, and magnitude of this risk, as well as the justification for the means chosen to deal with it, ultimately depend on empirical data.
Risk Management presents statistics to show that, assuming insurance policies providing $300,000 coverage for single occurrences, many municipalities in this state currently lack the resources to satisfy the $247,906 judgment awarded in this case in excess of the $300,000 limit. However, no evidence properly has been developed to show that greater insurance coverage is unavailable, or to show the likelihood that juries will award damages in excess of insurance policies which, practically speaking, these municipalities could obtain, or to show whether other risk
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