But it would be equitable, their attorneys say.

The attorneys told the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday that the state's governmental-liability cap penalizes the former Highland High School students and others involved in accidents in which there are more than two victims and the state is liable. The per-accident cap prevents multiple victims from collecting the maximum compensation allowed under a separate cap for individuals, they argued.

Sabodski, 17, and Horman, 14, died in a 2000 car accident while returning from a school-sponsored trip to California. Horman's older brother, Brian, now 20, broke several bones, including vertebrae in his neck and back.

Anderson, also now 20, was in a coma for three months and suffered a brain injury that has left her with a limited memory, partial paralysis and little hope of becoming a prosecutor as she once aspired.

"That's going to affect me for the rest of my life," she said after Tuesday's proceedings. "I will never fully recover."

The driver and another student were not seriously injured.

Salt Lake City School District settled with victims' families, but the settlement left one issue unresolved: the constitutionality of the liability cap that limits how much money each victim can claim from the state.

At the time of the accident, the Governmental Immunity Act capped individual claims at $250,000, but set the maximum total disbursement at $500,000 per accident. The Legislature has since increased the caps to $500,000 per individual and $1 million per accident.

As a result, accidents with more than two victims are never eligible for the individual maximum.

That left the Highland victims and their families to negotiate, through a mediator, how to split $500,000.

"It was hell," David Horman, Jeffrey and Brian's father, said in an interview. "It was the most unbelievable, unfair thing I've ever experienced aside from the accident. Debate the worth of your kid versus someone else's?"

Said Carol Millikan, Anderson's mother: "I don't understand how you can make a larger group of people be a lesser class of citizen than a smaller group of people."

Their attorneys argued that the caps, particularly the per-accident cap, are inequitable and unconstitutional.

"Each of these victims, to the extent of their injuries, must be given the opportunity to recover up to $250,000," the Hormans' attorney, told the court. "[The system] creates invidious discrimination against the people who are most severely injured."

Arguing for the district, Assistant Attorney General Brent Burnett reminded justices that per-accident caps - also known as aggregate caps - have survived court challenges in other states.

They are necessary to protect governmental entities from financial crisis, he said.

"If you were to take off the aggregate [cap], you would expose the state to very large judgments," he said.

In addition, he said, state law gives governmental entities immunity from liability, except in limited cases.

"There is no right being taken away in this circumstance," Burnett said. "The reasonable remedy is waiving immunity and providing some recovery. That recovery is admittedly limited."

Justices took the case under advisement and are expected to come out with a ruling later this year.

rlynn@sltrib.com

What happened in the accident

Two Highland High School students died and two were seriously injured Nov. 5, 2000, when the minivan they were riding in overturned as they traveled back to Salt Lake City from a weekend debate tournament in Los Angeles.

The accident happened late at night while the van was headed northbound on Interstate 15 in Millard County, near Cove Fort. The van's lone driver was rushing to get the students back to Salt Lake City in time to avoid unexcused absences at school the next day.

In 2001, the district strengthened its travel policy to increase the minimum age of drivers for school-sponsored trips, prohibit driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and require that vehicles meet federal school-bus safety standards.

The Salt Lake City School District reached a settlement with the victims and their families, but the settlement left one issue for the courts to decide: whether the individual and "per-occurrence" compensation caps outlined in the Governmental Immunity Act are constitutional.

On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the caps.