House Bill No. introduced by A. Nicastro aims to revise and clarify the law regarding apportionment in negligence cases. The bill amends Section 27-1-703 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to allow a party to argue that a nonparty is the sole cause of the claimant's injuries without the need to seek apportionment. Additionally, it specifies that a defendant may assert that the claimant's damages were caused by a person with whom the claimant has settled or released from liability, and may seek apportionment by the finder of fact.

The bill also introduces several key changes to the existing law. It replaces the term "comparison" with "apportionment" in the context of fault determination and clarifies that a defendant alleging fault on the part of a released or settled person must affirmatively plead this defense in their answer. Furthermore, it mandates that if a defendant seeks to apportion fault on the verdict form, they must notify the settled or released person of the allegations. Overall, the bill aims to streamline the process of determining liability and apportioning fault in negligence cases while ensuring that parties can effectively argue their positions regarding the causes of injuries.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 27-1-703
HB0303_1(1): 27-1-703
HB0303_1(2): 27-1-703
HB0303_1(3): 27-1-703
HB0303_1(4): 27-1-703
HB0303_1(5): 27-1-703
HB0303_1(6): 27-1-703
HB0303_1: 27-1-703