INDIANAPOLIS -- Several Indiana businesses and business groups have organized Hoosiers for Common Sense Consumption. The purpose of the coalition is to educate Indiana on S. 908, The Commons Sense Consumption Act, a U.S. Senate bill filed by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and co-sponsored by 18 senators including Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.).
The coalition said S. 908 is a critical piece of legislation. Recently, trial lawyers for plaintiffs claiming overweight and obesity-related injuries are filing civil lawsuits against restaurants and food manufacturers, [image-nocss] eliminating any aspect of personal responsibility. S. 908 would prohibit lawsuits that allege a food manufacturer or seller is responsible for an individual's weight gain or obesity-related health problems.
In addition to lawsuits already filed against the food industry, the escalation of threats by trial lawyers in the legal community against various food and beverage industries makes it clear this issue is not going to go away any time soon, said the group.
These baseless and frivolous lawsuits are causing the cost of insurance to rise unjustifiably said Steve Williams, president of the Insurance Institute of Indiana. While no one in the food industry has lost any frivolous lawsuit in this area, the cost of defending itself in court and the continued exposure the industry has costs real money that causes the cost of food products to rise.
Jason Shelley, Indiana State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business agreed. Independent business owners cannot afford to be subjected to baseless lawsuits, the unreasonable legal expense, or the increased insurance costs that this exposure causes. Our members and their customers need some assurances from the U.S. Congress that our industries are important.
Senator Lugar has again displayed leadership by signing on to S. 908. Indiana businesses and consumers now need Sen. Bayh (D-Ind.) to join him to send the appropriate message to the rest of Congress: Indiana is united in its support for this bill, said Joe Lackey of the Indiana Grocery & Convenience Store Association.
Hoosiers for Common Sense Consumption is made up of the Indiana Manufacturers Association, the Indiana Retail Council, the Restaurant and Hospitality Association of Indiana, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Indiana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Insurance Institute of Indiana, the Hoosier Beverage Association, and the Indiana Grocery & Convenience Store Association.
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