The Federalist Society’s 2020 Civil Justice Update, published on December 1, 2020, included a discussion of the civil justice reforms enacted in the District of Columbia in 2020. Since the publication of the white paper, Washington, DC, has enacted legislation to facilitate tort recoveries by electric scooter and e-bike riders. The Vulnerable User Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2019, signed by the Mayor on December 22, 2020, limits the application of contributory negligence in cases involving a collision between an electric mobility device and a motor vehicle. Modified comparative fault now applies to these cases. A copy of the new law is available here. 

To read more about key civil justice issues and changes in 2020, click here.