Bill Would Lift Legal Cloud From Apologies

If a doctor amputates your leg but should have removed your tonsils, don’t expect an apology.

While most of us feel compelled to apologize after we make mistakes, the California Evidence Code discourages it by allowing statements of regret to be considered confessions of guilt in civil lawsuits.

This could change if Gov. Gray Davis signs a recently passed bill preventing apologies from being used as admissions of fault.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Quentin Kopp, an advocate for the measure (AB 2804), said the evidence code makes apologies legally dangerous and discourages compassionate behavior during the litigation process. Kopp, a former state senator and a plaintiffs’ lawyer for 20 years, believes that’s wrong.

Kopp, who persuaded Assemblyman Lou Papan (D-Millbrae) to introduce the bill, said gestures of sympathy and regret can reduce rage in victims and prevent lawsuits fueled by rage.

“Take the apology away and a bad situation will only get worse,” he said.

California will be the third state to enact a benevolent-gesture law if Davis signs the bill. A spokeswoman for the governor said Davis has not yet taken a position on it. He must act by Monday.

The official bill analysis lists no opposition.

Massachusetts passed a similar law in 1986, after a state legislator’s daughter was killed by a motorist who failed to apologize. Kopp said the legislator felt robbed of a key element in the healing process.

Texas followed with a similar law in 1999, and related legislation is percolating in other states.

The Massachusetts law differs from the California version by exempting from liability an entire phrase connected to a benevolent gesture, such as “I’m sorry it was my fault.” Papan’s bill, like the Texas law, would exempt only “I’m sorry.”

Kopp said an article in a legal journal aroused his interest in the issue.

The article’s author, American Bar Assn. Journal Assistant Managing Editor Steven Keeva, said apologies are too often overlooked “as a means for helping to resolve disputes, for serving as a lubricant to advance settlement talks.”

Keeva estimated that 30% of medical malpractice suits would be dropped if apologies were offered by responsible parties.

The Judicial Council of California and the Civil Justice Assn. of California support the bill, which met with only one “no” vote, from Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside).