CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 Representative(s) Warner offered the following:
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13 Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 30, line 12, through page 35, line 2,
15 remove from the bill:
16 All of said lines
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18 and insert in lieu thereof: doctrine of joint and several
19 liability. However, the doctrine of joint and several
20 liability shall not apply to that portion of economic damages
21 in excess of $200,000.
22 (a) In order to allocate any or all fault to a
23 nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a
24 nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the
25 nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically
26 as practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive
27 pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to
28 amendment any time before trial in accordance with the Florida
29 Rules of Civil Procedure.
30 (b) In order to allocate any or all fault to a
31 nonparty and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
1 verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant
2 must prove at trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the
3 fault of the nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries.
4 (4) APPLICABILITY.--
5 (a) This section applies to negligence cases. For
6 purposes of this section, "negligence cases" includes, but is
7 not limited to, civil actions for damages based upon theories
8 of negligence, strict liability, products liability,
9 professional malpractice whether couched in terms of contract
10 or tort, or breach of warranty and like theories. In
11 determining whether a case falls within the term "negligence
12 cases," the court shall look to the substance of the action
13 and not the conclusory terms used by the parties.
14 (b) This section does not apply to any action brought
15 by any person to recover actual economic damages resulting
16 from pollution, to any action based upon an intentional tort,
17 or to any cause of action as to which application of the
18 doctrine of joint and several liability is specifically
19 provided by chapter 403, chapter 498, chapter 517, chapter
20 542, or chapter 895.
21 (5) APPLICABILITY OF JOINT AND SEVERAL
22 LIABILITY.--Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
23 the doctrine of joint and several liability applies to all
24 actions in which the total amount of damages does not exceed
25 $25,000.
26 (5)(6) Notwithstanding anything in law to the
27 contrary, in an action for damages for personal injury or
28 wrongful death arising out of medical malpractice, whether in
29 contract or tort, when an apportionment of damages pursuant to
30 this section is attributed to a teaching hospital as defined
31 in s. 408.07, the court shall enter judgment against the
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
1 teaching hospital on the basis of such party's percentage of
2 fault and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and
3 several liability.
4 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section
5 324.021, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (c) is
6 added to that subsection, to read:
7 324.021 Definitions; minimum insurance required.--The
8 following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall,
9 for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings
10 respectively ascribed to them in this section, except in those
11 instances where the context clearly indicates a different
12 meaning:
13 (9) OWNER; OWNER/LESSOR.--
14 (b) Owner/lessor.--Notwithstanding any other provision
15 of the Florida Statutes or existing case law:,
16 1. The lessor, under an agreement to lease a motor
17 vehicle for 1 year or longer which requires the lessee to
18 obtain insurance acceptable to the lessor which contains
19 limits not less than $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury liability
20 and $50,000 property damage liability or not less than
21 $500,000 combined property damage liability and bodily injury
22 liability, shall not be deemed the owner of said motor vehicle
23 for the purpose of determining financial responsibility for
24 the operation of said motor vehicle or for the acts of the
25 operator in connection therewith; further, this subparagraph
26 paragraph shall be applicable so long as the insurance meeting
27 these requirements is in effect. The insurance meeting such
28 requirements may be obtained by the lessor or lessee,
29 provided, if such insurance is obtained by the lessor, the
30 combined coverage for bodily injury liability and property
31 damage liability shall contain limits of not less than $1
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
1 million and may be provided by a lessor's blanket policy.
2 2. The lessor, under an agreement to rent or lease a
3 motor vehicle for a period of less than 1 year, shall be
4 deemed the owner of the motor vehicle for the purpose of
5 determining liability for the operation of the vehicle or the
6 acts of the operator in connection therewith only up to
7 $100,000 per person and up to $300,000 per incident for bodily
8 injury and up to $50,000 for property damage. If the lessee or
9 the operator of the motor vehicle is uninsured or has any
10 insurance with limits less than $500,000 combined property
11 damage and bodily injury liability, the lessor shall be liable
12 for up to an additional $500,000 in economic damages only
13 arising out of the use of the motor vehicle. The additional
14 specified liability of the lessor for economic damages shall
15 be reduced by amounts actually recovered from the lessee, from
16 the operator, and from any insurance or self-insurance
17 covering the lessee or operator. Nothing in this subparagraph
18 shall be construed to affect the liability of the lessor for
19 its own negligence.
20 3. The owner who is a natural person and loans a motor
21 vehicle to any permissive user shall be liable for the
22 operation of the vehicle or the acts of the operator in
23 connection therewith only up to $100,000 per person and up to
24 $300,000 per incident for bodily injury and up to $50,000 for
25 property damage. If the permissive user of the motor vehicle
26 is uninsured or has any insurance with limits less than
27 $500,000 combined property damage and bodily injury liability,
28 the owner shall be liable for up to an additional $500,000 in
29 economic damages only arising out of the use of the motor
30 vehicle. The additional specified liability of the owner for
31 economic damages shall be reduced by amounts actually
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
1 recovered from the permissive user and from any insurance or
2 self-insurance covering the permissive user. Nothing in this
3 subparagraph shall be construed to affect the liability of the
4 owner for his or her own negligence.
5 (c) Application.--The limits on liability in
6 subparagraphs (b)2. and (b)3. do not apply to an owner of
7 motor vehicles that are used for commercial activity in the
8 owner's ordinary course of business, other than a rental
9 company that rents or leases motor vehicles. For purposes of
10 this paragraph, the term "rental company" includes only an
11 entity that is engaged in the business of renting or leasing
12 motor vehicles to the general public and that rents or leases
13 a majority of its motor vehicles to persons with no direct or
14 indirect affiliation with the rental company. The term also
15 includes a motor vehicle dealer that provides temporary
16 replacement vehicles to its customers for up to 10 days.
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19 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
20 And the title is amended as follows:
21 On page 4, line 1 through line 16,
22 remove from the title of the bill:
23 All of said lines
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25 and insert in lieu thereof:
26 based on the amount of damages; providing for the allocation
27 of fault to a nonparty; requiring that such fault must be
28 proved by a preponderance of the evidence; amending s.
29 324.021, F.S.; providing the lessor of a motor vehicle under
30 certain rental agreements shall be deemed the owner of the
31 vehicle for the purpose of determining liability for the
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 775
Amendment No. 5a (for drafter's use only)
1 operation of the vehicle within certain limits; providing for
2 the liability of the owner of a motor vehicle who loans the
3 vehicle to certain users; providing for application; providing
4 for severability; providing an effective date.
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