Senate Bill sb0316

    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 316

    By Senator Campbell





    33-278-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending

  3         s. 768.28, F.S.; expanding the liability of the

  4         state and its agencies and subdivisions under

  5         specified circumstances; providing an effective

  6         date.

  7

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

  9

10         Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 768.28, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         768.28  Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;

13  recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of

14  limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management

15  programs.--

16         (5)  The state and its agencies and subdivisions shall

17  be liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the same

18  extent as a private individual under like circumstances, but

19  liability shall not include punitive damages or interest for

20  the period before judgment.  Neither the state nor its

21  agencies or subdivisions shall be liable to pay a claim or a

22  judgment by any one person which exceeds the sum of $100,000

23  or any claim or judgment, or portions thereof, which, when

24  totaled with all other claims or judgments paid by the state

25  or its agencies or subdivisions arising out of the same

26  incident or occurrence, exceeds the sum of $200,000.  However,

27  a judgment or judgments may be claimed and rendered in excess

28  of these amounts and may be settled and paid pursuant to this

29  act up to $100,000 or $200,000, as the case may be, or may be

30  settled and paid up to indemnity limits in an amount in excess

31  of $100,000 or $200,000, as the case may be, if the defendant

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2001                                   SB 316
    33-278-01




  1  state, agency, or subdivision has available liability

  2  insurance coverage; and that portion of the judgment that

  3  exceeds these amounts may be reported to the Legislature, but

  4  may be paid in part or in whole only by further act of the

  5  Legislature. Notwithstanding the limited waiver of sovereign

  6  immunity provided herein, the state or an agency or

  7  subdivision thereof may agree, within the limits of insurance

  8  coverage provided, to settle a claim made or a judgment

  9  rendered against it without further action by the Legislature,

10  but the state or agency or subdivision thereof shall not be

11  deemed to have waived any defense of sovereign immunity or to

12  have increased the limits of its liability as a result of its

13  obtaining insurance coverage for tortious acts in excess of

14  the $100,000 or $200,000 waiver provided above.  The

15  limitations of liability set forth in this subsection shall

16  apply to the state and its agencies and subdivisions whether

17  or not the state or its agencies or subdivisions possessed

18  sovereign immunity before July 1, 1974.

19         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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22                          SENATE SUMMARY

23    Expands the liability in tort actions of the state and
      its agencies and subdivisions beyond the $100,000 or
24    $200,000 limits up to the indemnity limits of their
      existing liability insurance coverage, if any.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.