Senate Bill sb1394c1

    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1394

    By the Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care; and
    Senator Smith




    317-1975-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to immunity from civil

  3         liability; creating s. 768.37, F.S.; providing

  4         to certain entities immunity from civil

  5         liability for personal injury or wrongful death

  6         based upon long-term consumption of certain

  7         foods or nonalcoholic beverages under certain

  8         circumstances; providing applicability;

  9         providing a limitation on immunity; providing

10         an effective date.

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  Section 768.37, Florida Statutes, is

15  created to read:

16         768.37  Limitation on civil liability arising from

17  long-term consumption of food and nonalcoholic beverages.--A

18  manufacturer, distributor, or seller of foods or nonalcoholic

19  beverages intended for human consumption is not subject to

20  civil liability for personal injury or wrongful death to the

21  extent that such liability is premised upon a person's weight

22  gain or obesity, or a health condition related to weight gain

23  or obesity, resulting from the person's long-term consumption

24  of such foods or nonalcoholic beverages. For the purposes of

25  this section, the term "long-term" means the cumulative effect

26  of multiple instances over a period of time and not the effect

27  of a single or isolated instance. Such a limitation on civil

28  liability does not bar a claim under any other provision of

29  law against a manufacturer, distributor, or seller of foods or

30  nonalcoholic beverages if the manufacturer, distributor, or

31  seller has failed to provide nutritional content information

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1394
    317-1975-04




 1  as required by an applicable state or federal statute or

 2  regulation, or has provided materially false or misleading

 3  information to the public in any form.

 4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 5  law and shall apply to all claims filed on or after that date.

 6  

 7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 8                         Senate Bill 1394

 9                                 

10  
    The committee substitute expands the bar on claims for damages
11  arising from personal injury or wrongful death against a
    retail seller of foods or nonalcoholic beverages if the claim
12  is premised upon a person's weight gain or obesity, or a
    health condition related to weight gain or obesity, resulting
13  from long-term consumption of such foods or nonalcoholic
    beverages, to also prohibit such claims against a manufacturer
14  or distributor of such foods or nonalcoholic beverages. The
    bill provides that such a limitation does not bar a claim
15  under any other provision of law against a manufacturer,
    distributor, or seller of foods or nonalcoholic beverages if
16  such a person has failed to provide nutritional content
    information as required by any applicable state or federal law
17  or has provided materially false or misleading information to
    the public.
18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  2

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