Oklahoma Governor Praises Legislature for Lawsuit Bills

Gov. Mary Fallin is praising the Legislature for the quick passage of nearly two dozen bills to overhaul the state’s civil justice code and says she plans to sign the measures “very quickly.”

Fallin said Tuesday she has two weeks for her legal staff to review the 23 bills approved by the House and Senate this week, but she expects to sign many before then, possibly by the end of the day.

Fallin called the special session after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in June that a sweeping 2009 bill to overhaul the state’s tort laws was unconstitutional because it included multiple subjects in a single bill. In a separate ruling, the court also determined a requirement that plaintiffs in negligence cases file an expert’s affidavit also is unconstitutional.