§ 1-1-109 — Comparative fault

Wyoming § 1-1-109

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 01: Civil Procedure
• Ch. 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS AS TO CIVIL ACTIONS

Text

(a) As used in this section:
(i) "Actor" means a person or other entity, including
the claimant, whose fault is determined to be a proximate cause
of the death, injury or damage, whether or not the actor is a
party to the litigation;
(ii) "Claimant" means a natural person, including the
personal representative of a deceased person, or any legal
entity, including corporations, limited liability companies,
partnerships or unincorporated associations, and includes a
third party plaintiff and a counterclaiming defendant;
(iii) "Defendant" means a party to the litigation
against whom a claim for damages is asserted, and includes third
party defendants. Where there is a counterclaim, the claimant
against whom the counterclaim is asserted is also a defendant;
(iv) "Fault" includes acts or omissions, determined
to be a proximate cause of death or injury to person or
property, that are in any measure negligent, or that subject an
actor to strict tort or strict products liability, and includes
breach of warranty, assumption of risk and misuse or alteration
of a product;
(v) "Injury to person or property," in addition to
bodily injury, includes, without limitation, loss of enjoyment
of life, emotional distress, pain and suffering, disfigurement,
physical or mental disability, loss of earnings or income,
damage to reputation, loss of consortium, loss of profits and
all other such claims and causes of action arising out of the
fault of an actor;
(vi) "Wrongful death" means that cause of action
authorized by Wyoming statute to recover money damages when the
death of a person is caused by the fault of an actor such as
would have entitled the party injured to maintain an action to
recover damages if death had not ensued.
(b) Contributory fault shall not bar a recovery in an
action by any claimant or the claimant's legal representative to
recover damages for wrongful death or injury to person or
property, if the contributory fault of the claimant is not more
than fifty percent (50%) of the total fault of all actors. Any
damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount
of fault attributed to the claimant.
(c) Whether or not the claimant is free of fault, the
court shall:
(i) If a jury trial:
(A) Direct the jury to determine the total
amount of damages sustained by the claimant without regard to
the percentage of fault attributed to the claimant, and the
percentage of fault attributable to each actor; and
(B) Inform the jury of the consequences of its
determination of the percentage of fault.
(ii) If a trial before the court without jury, make
special findings of fact, determining the total amount of
damages sustained by the claimant without regard to the
percentage of fault attributed to the claimant, and the
percentage of fault attributable to each actor.
(d) The court shall reduce the amount of damages
determined under subsection (c) of this section in proportion to
the percentage of fault attributed to the claimant and enter
judgment against each defendant in the amount determined under
subsection (e) of this section.
(e) Each defendant is liable only to the extent of that
defendant's proportion of the total fault determined under
paragraph (c)(i) or (ii) of this section.