House Bill 3871
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3871
By the Committee on Civil Justice & Claims and
Representatives Warner, Ritter, Flanagan and Thrasher
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to product liability; amending
3 s. 95.031, F.S.; providing a time period for
4 bringing an action for product liability or
5 fraud; providing an exception; creating s.
6 768.1256, F.S.; providing a government rules
7 defense with respect to certain product
8 liability actions; providing for a rebuttable
9 presumption; providing requirements with
10 respect to products which are drugs; providing
11 an effective date.
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13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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15 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 95.031, Florida
16 Statutes, is amended to read:
17 95.031 Computation of time.--Except as provided in
18 subsection (2) and in s. 95.051 and elsewhere in these
19 statutes, the time within which an action shall be begun under
20 any statute of limitations runs from the time the cause of
21 action accrues.
22 (2) Actions for products liability and fraud under s.
23 95.11(3) must be begun within the period prescribed in this
24 chapter, with the period running from the time the facts
25 giving rise to the cause of action were discovered or should
26 have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence,
27 instead of running from any date prescribed elsewhere in s.
28 95.11(3), but in no event may an action for product liability
29 or fraud under s. 95.11(3) be commenced unless the complaint
30 is served and filed within 12 years after the date of delivery
31 of the product to its first purchaser or lessee who was not
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1 engaged in the business of selling or leasing the product or
2 of using the product as a component in the manufacture of
3 another product or any event an action for fraud under s.
4 95.11(3) must be begun within 12 years after the date of the
5 commission of the alleged fraud, regardless of the date the
6 defect in the product or the fraud was or should have been
7 discovered. However, the 12-year limitation on filing an
8 action for products liability does not apply if the
9 manufacturer knew of a defect in the product and concealed or
10 attempted to conceal this defect.
11 Section 2. Section 768.1256, Florida Statutes, is
12 created to read:
13 768.1256 Government rules defense.--
14 (1) In a product liability action brought against a
15 manufacturer or seller for harm allegedly caused by a product,
16 the jury shall be instructed that there is a rebuttable
17 presumption that the manufacturer or seller is not liable if,
18 at the time the specific unit of the product was sold or
19 delivered to the initial purchaser or user, the aspect of the
20 product that allegedly caused the harm was in compliance with
21 standards relevant to the event causing the death or injury
22 set forth in a federal or state statute or was approved by, or
23 was in compliance with regulations or standards relevant to
24 the event causing the death or injury promulgated by, a
25 federal or state agency responsible for reviewing the safety
26 of the product. Noncompliance with a standard relevant to the
27 event causing the death or injury set forth in a federal or
28 state statute or lack of approval by, or noncompliance with
29 regulations or standards relevant to the event causing the
30 death or injury promulgated by, a federal or state agency does
31 not raise a presumption of negligence on the part of a
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1 manufacturer or seller. Evidence of compliance or
2 noncompliance with a regulation or standard not relevant to
3 the event causing the death or injury is not admissible.
4 (2) In a product liability action against a
5 manufacturer or seller, a defendant may raise an affirmative
6 defense that a product that is a drug is not defective or
7 unreasonably dangerous, if the drug was approved for safety
8 and efficacy by the United States Food and Drug Administration
9 and the drug and its labeling were in compliance with the
10 United States Food and Drug Administration's approval at the
11 time the drug left the control of the manufacturer or seller.
12 However, this subsection does not apply to a drug that is sold
13 in the United States after the effective date of an order of
14 the United States Food and Drug Administration to remove the
15 drug from the market or to withdraw its approval. This
16 subsection does not apply if the defendant at any time before
17 the event that allegedly caused the injury does any of the
18 following:
19 (a) Intentionally withholds from or misrepresents to
20 the United States Food and Drug Administration information
21 concerning the drug that is required to be submitted under the
22 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, chapter 675, 52 Stat.
23 1040, 21 U.S.C. ss. 301 to 321, 331 to 343-2, 344 to 346a,
24 347, 348 to 353, 355 to 360, 360b to 376, and 378 to 395, and
25 the drug would not have been approved, or the United States
26 Food and Drug Administration would have withdrawn approval
27 for, the drug if the information had been accurately
28 submitted; or
29 (b) Makes an illegal payment to an official or
30 employee of the United States Food and Drug Administration for
31 the purpose of securing or maintaining approval of the drug.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 3871
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1 Section 3. Any action that would not have been barred
2 under s. 95.031(2), Florida Statutes, prior to the amendments
3 to that section by this act may be commenced before June 1,
4 1998, and, if it is not commenced by that date, and is barred
5 by the amendments to s. 95.031(2), Florida Statutes, by this
6 act, shall be barred.
7 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1 of the
8 year in which enacted.
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11 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Provides a 12-year statute of repose with respect to
13 actions for product liability or fraud. Provides a
government rules defense to a product liability action
14 which provides for a rebuttable presumption against
liability under described circumstances. See bill for
15 details.
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