§7947. Allocation of responsibility for noneconomic loss

(a) General rule

In any civil action against a teacher, based on an act or omission of a teacher acting within the scope of the teacher's employment or responsibilities to a school or governmental entity, the liability of the teacher for noneconomic loss shall be determined in accordance with subsection (b).

(b) Amount of liability

(1) In general

(A) Liability

Each defendant who is a teacher shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant (determined in accordance with paragraph (2)) for the harm to the claimant with respect to which that defendant is liable.

(B) Separate judgment

The court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an amount determined pursuant to subparagraph (A).

(2) Percentage of responsibility

For purposes of determining the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to a defendant who is a teacher under this section, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage of responsibility of each person responsible for the claimant's harm, whether or not such person is a party to the action.

(c) Rule of construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt or supersede any Federal or State law that further limits the application of joint liability in a civil action described in subsection (a), beyond the limitations established in this section.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title VIII, §8557, formerly title II, §2367, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title II, §201, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1670 ; renumbered title IX, §9547, renumbered title VIII, §8557, Pub. L. 114–95, title II, §2001(a)(3)(A), (B), (D), title VIII, §8001(a)(7), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1913 , 2088, 2089.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was classified to section 6737 of this title prior to renumbering by Pub. L. 114–95.