The person talking about HB388 making broad strokes is right - that's what it does. That is the point. The law today already says people aren't liable for subsequent harm with an item if that item is stolen. The Secord case was based on some general theory that either the gun was not really stolen or it was left where any reasonable person would know the grandson would get it (i.e., it was based on a particular
alleged set of facts, and since facts are for juries to determine, it went to trial). General negligence law already says that one can't be liable for harms resulting from the criminal acts of another (with a bunch of complex exceptions, some of which were alleged in the Secord case).
The courts in Secord's case ultimately found no liability could attach, making HB388 essentially redundant to that case. Except that it was an incredibly expensive test of broadly alleged facts that the Secords had to pay for.
HB388 would make it almost impossible to bring that sort of case in the first place, by stomping out all the exceptions in one broad stroke. It might turn out to be overbroad given some wild set of facts, but mostly we have seen this sort of liability used politically and/or where any sane person would think liability should be cut off. So it may be overbroad but since no one opposed is offering a more modest version, this is how it's gonna be. And given past abuses, we should be fine with that. Since no one offered a more reasonable version, then I guess we deal with any theoretical problems after they arise.
"If HB388 had been law at the time, Secord would not have had to deal with the lawsuit in the first place" (
PGNH) is the heart of it -- anyone can be sued under a plausible set of facts if a legal theory fits that set of facts. The vague set of facts alleged to sue Secord (essentially that the "theft" was not really a theft or that grampa "should have known") would not have been able to be tested if HB388 were law at the time. The outcome - no liability - would be the same, but with a lot less expense and personal hell for the Secord family.
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
