Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 12, chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 17, to read:
ARTICLE 17. DANGEROUS OR OBSCENE MATERIAL
LIABILITY
START_STATUTE12-771. Dangerous or obscene material
liability; terrorism; felony acts; definitions
A. A person
is liable for damages if the person produces, publishes or distributes written,
audio, video or digital material and all of the following apply:
1. The
material is dangerous or obscene.
2. The
person benefited from the production, publishing or distribution of the
material.
3. The
person knew, should have known or recklessly disregarded a significant risk
that the material would substantially assist, encourage or result in another
person committing terrorism or a felony offense.
4. The
material was a cause in another person committing terrorism or a felony offense
against a victim.
B. Notwithstanding
sections 12-505 and 12-542, an action pursuant to this section shall be
commenced within two years after the final disposition of the criminal
proceedings.
C. The court
shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a victim who prevails in an
action pursuant to this section.
D. For the
purposes of this section:
1. "Dangerous"
means material that is found by cleaR and convincing evidence to incite or
produce an imminent act of terrorism or a felony offense.
2. "Obscene"
means material that:
(a) The average person, applying contemporary
community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to
the prurient interest.
(b) The average person, applying contemporary
community standards, would find that the material depicts or describes, in a
patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by state law.
(c) Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
artistic, political or scientific value.
3. "Terrorism"
has the same meaning prescribed in section 13-2301.
4. "Victim"
has the same meaning prescribed in section 8-382 or 13‑4401. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 12-2506, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE12-2506. Joint and several liability abolished;
exception; apportionment of degrees of fault; definitions
A. In an action for personal injury, property damage
or wrongful death, the liability of each defendant for damages is several only
and is not joint, except as otherwise provided in this section. Each
defendant is liable only for the amount of damages allocated to that defendant
in direct proportion to that defendant's percentage of fault, and a separate
judgment shall be entered against the defendant for that amount. To
determine the amount of judgment to be entered against each defendant, the
trier of fact shall multiply the total amount of damages recoverable by the
plaintiff by the percentage of each defendant's fault, and that amount is the
maximum recoverable against the defendant.
B. In assessing percentages of fault the trier of
fact shall consider the fault of all persons who contributed to the alleged
injury, death or damage to property, regardless of whether the person was, or
could have been, named as a party to the suit. Negligence or fault
of a nonparty may be considered if the plaintiff entered into a settlement
agreement with the nonparty or if the defending party gives notice before
trial, in accordance with requirements established by court rule, that a
nonparty was wholly or partially at fault. Assessments of
percentages of fault for nonparties are used only as a vehicle for accurately
determining the fault of the named parties. Assessment of fault
against nonparties does not subject any nonparty to liability in this or any
other action, and it may not be introduced as evidence of liability in any
action.
C. The relative degree of fault of the claimant, and
the relative degrees of fault of all defendants and nonparties, shall be
determined and apportioned as a whole at one time by the trier of
fact. If two or more claimants have independent claims, a separate
determination and apportionment of the relative degrees of fault of the
respective parties, and any nonparties at fault, shall be made with respect to
each of the independent claims.
D. The liability of each defendant is several only
and is not joint, except that a party is responsible for the fault of another person,
or for payment of the proportionate share of another person, if any of the
following applies:
1. Both the party and the other person were acting
in concert.
2. The other person was acting as an agent or
servant of the party.
3. The party’s liability for the fault of another
person arises out of a duty created by the federal employers' liability act, (45 United States Code section 51).
4. The party
produces, publishes or distributes written, audio, video or digital material
pursuant to section 12-771.
E. If a defendant is found jointly and severally
liable pursuant to subsection D, the defendant has the right to contribution
pursuant to this chapter. In an action arising out of a duty created
by the federal employers' liability act (45 United States Code section 51), a
person or entity, other than an employee of the defendant, whose negligence or
fault caused or contributed to the plaintiff's injury or death shall contribute
to the defendant pursuant to this chapter. An action for contribution shall be
adjudicated and determined by the same trier of fact that adjudicates and
determines the action for the plaintiff's injury or death. The trier of fact
shall adjudicate and determine an action for contribution after the court
enters a judgment for the plaintiff's injury or death. On motion before the
conclusion of the trial, the plaintiff is entitled to an award against the
defendant for actual expenses the plaintiff incurred as a direct result of the
defendant's claim for contribution. The expenses shall include
reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.
F. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Acting in concert" means entering into
a conscious agreement to pursue a common plan or design to commit an
intentional tort and actively taking part in that intentional
tort. Acting in concert does not apply to any person whose conduct
was negligent in any of its degrees rather than intentional. A
person's conduct that provides substantial assistance to one committing an
intentional tort does not constitute acting in concert if the person has not
consciously agreed with the other to commit the intentional tort.
2. "Fault" means an actionable breach of
legal duty, act or omission proximately causing or contributing to injury or
damages sustained by a person seeking recovery, including negligence in all of
its degrees, contributory negligence, assumption of risk, strict liability,
breach of express or implied warranty of a product, products liability and
misuse, modification or abuse of a product. END_STATUTE
