Supporters hope measure will reduce frivolous litigation

Members voted Wednesday for SB315, requiring judges to inform juries of arbitration rulings in lawsuits generally filed by people injured in automobile accidents. The bill already has passed the Senate and now goes to Gov. Kenny Guinn.

In lawsuits involving $40,000 or less, Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said current law requires that they first be handled by nonbinding arbitrators.

Buckley, the executive director of Clark County Legal Services, said insurance companies almost automatically request jury trials if they are not satisfied with the arbitrator's decision.

"Insurance companies do not take arbitration seriously," Buckley said. "When the arbitrator doesn't favor them, they appeal it."

The consequence is that it takes people injured in car accidents an extra year or two of waiting for trial before they can receive any money, she said.

By giving juries information about what side prevailed in arbitration, Buckley said insurance companies might be less eager to request a jury trial and just accept an arbitrator's decision.

She added that a poll of 30 district judges last week showed all but two favor the bill.

But Assemblyman Greg Brower, R-Reno, argued against the bill, saying the problem with frivolous litigation occurs only in Clark County.

He said judges in Washoe County, Carson City and Douglas County oppose the bill.

A lawyer, Brower's proposed amendment that would have given judges the discretion of revealing or not revealing the arbitrator's decision to juries lost on a voice vote.

He complained that the bill thwarts the goal of having juries take a fresh, unbiased view of a case.

"This is the first step in undermining the right to a fair trial in our country," he said.

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