HF 118

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to civil actions; prohibiting actions against 
  1.3             certain persons for weight gain as a result of 
  1.4             consuming certain foods; proposing coding for new law 
  1.5             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 604. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [604.17] [PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN FOOD 
  1.8   CONSUMPTION ACT.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [TITLE.] This act may be cited as the 
  1.10  Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act. 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this section 
  1.12  the following terms have the meanings given. 
  1.13     (b) "Long-term consumption" means the cumulative effect of 
  1.14  the consumption of food or nonalcoholic beverages, and not the 
  1.15  effect of a single instance of consumption. 
  1.16     (c) "Party" means an individual, corporation, company, 
  1.17  association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, or 
  1.18  any other entity, including any governmental entity. 
  1.19     Subd. 3.  [IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY.] A producer, 
  1.20  grower, manufacturer, packer, distributor, carrier, holder, 
  1.21  marketer, or seller of a food or nonalcoholic beverage intended 
  1.22  for human consumption, or an association of one or more of such 
  1.23  entities, shall not be subject to civil liability based on any 
  1.24  individual's or group of individuals' purchase or consumption of 
  1.25  food or nonalcoholic beverages in cases where liability arises 
  2.1   from weight gain, obesity, or a health condition associated with 
  2.2   weight gain or obesity and resulting from the individual's or 
  2.3   group of individuals' long-term purchase or consumption of a 
  2.4   food or nonalcoholic beverage. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.6      Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment 
  2.7   and applies to any action brought by any party on or after the 
  2.8   effective date.