Senate Bill sb1558

    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1558

    By Senator Ring





    32-867-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to comparative fault; amending

  3         s. 768.81, F.S.; requiring apportionment of

  4         total fault only among parties to an action who

  5         may be held legally liable; providing an

  6         effective date.

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  8         WHEREAS, frivolous accusations against nonparties not

  9  only deny justice to victims, but also add unnecessarily to

10  the expense and complexity of legal actions, NOW, THEREFORE,

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12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 768.81, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended to read:

16         768.81  Comparative fault.--

17         (3)  APPORTIONMENT OF DAMAGES.--In cases to which this

18  section applies, the trier of fact shall apportion the total

19  fault for the occurrence giving rise to the legal proceeding

20  only among the claimant and those defendants to the action who

21  may be held legally liable, and the court shall enter judgment

22  against each party liable on the basis of such party's

23  percentage of fault and not on the basis of the doctrine of

24  joint and several liability.

25         (a)  In order to allocate any or all fault to a

26  nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a

27  nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the

28  nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically

29  as practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive

30  pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 1558
    32-867-07




 1  amendment any time before trial in accordance with the Florida

 2  Rules of Civil Procedure.

 3         (b)  In order to allocate any or all fault to a

 4  nonparty and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the

 5  verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant

 6  must prove at trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the

 7  fault of the nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries.

 8         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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11                          SENATE SUMMARY

12    Requires apportionment of total fault only among parties
      to an action who may be held legally liable.
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