The American Tort Reform Association urges the Colorado Senate to reject House Bill 1291, a bill that would open the floodgates to private lawsuits under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
The state also risks becoming a “Lawsuit Inferno” on ATRA’s Legislative HeatCheck should this bill pass.
“Colorado already faces the seventh-highest tort tax in the nation, with residents paying nearly $2,000 each year and almost 100,000 jobs lost annually due to excessive litigation costs,” said ATRA president Tiger Joyce. “H.B. 1291 would only make matters worse by encouraging a new wave of lawsuits that do nothing to protect consumers and everything to enrich trial lawyers.”
ATRA says the state’s Consumer Protection Act was designed to help consumers who are misled by deceptive advertising, not to serve as a catch-all for personal injury claims. The Association notes that the lawsuits that would result from H.B. 1291 are unlikely to involve refunds for misleading fares, but rather stem from car accidents, assaults, or other serious incidents-claims that should be handled under established tort law, not consumer protection statutes.
“If enacted, this bill would allow lawyers to sidestep traditional tort law requirements and tack on consumer protection claims to nearly every lawsuit involving rideshare operations, purely to threaten businesses with additional liability and drive-up settlement demands,” Joyce said. “This approach is unnecessary and risks increasing costs for rideshare companies, drivers, and riders alike.”
ATRA’s opposition to H.B. 1291 is focused on its misguided enforcement mechanism. Regulatory compliance should be overseen by government agencies – not by creating a new avenue for lawsuits that will ultimately harm Colorado’s business climate and consumers.
Should the Senate advance this bill, ATRA urges Gov. Jared Polis to veto H.B. 1291 and protect Colorado from excessive litigation and its damaging economic consequences.
