Client
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce/Minnesota Civil Justice Coalition

The Issue
Under Minnesota's joint and several liability law, if a party was found to be more than 15% at fault for an injury, that party could be held liable for 100% of the damages. Minnesota's joint and several liability law was one the least favorable in the nation. At least 39 states, including all Midwest states, had either abolished joint and several liability or instituted a higher threshold of fault before a defendant could be required to pay 100% of damages.

The Program
There were 17 State Senators who were targeted as part of this phone program. FLS was retained to help activate business owners and consumers within the targeted Senate districts.

To accomplish our objective we set up a "Give Number" program. Using a variety of lists from various coalition partners, we called individuals and outlined the issue and asked if they would be willing to take the number to call their elected official and voice their support for changing Minnesota's joint and several liability law. If they agreed, we would give them the name and number for their specific State Senator as well as several key talking points. There was a specially tailored script for business lists verses consumer lists, in an effort to ensure we were getting the right message to the right audience.

This project ran over the course of almost six weeks, with an average of 15-20 people every day in each targeted district agreeing to call their Senator about joint and several liability legislation. During the course of the project we were able to ensure that every time there was a new bill introduced, that bill number was incorporated into the script to ensure that legislators knew their constituents had the most current information on this issue and were tracking it closely.

The Result
After over a decade of efforts to pass joint and several liability reform through the Minnesota Senate, in 2003 it passed on a floor vote. The new law abolishes joint and several liability for defendants 50% or less at fault. 11 of 17 targeted Senators voted in favor of this legislation.

Call FLS for your next grassroots project at 866-fls-2002, or e-mail info@flsphones.com