Florida Senate - 2005 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1513, 1st Eng.
Barcode 700272
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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05/04/2005 08:56 PM .
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11 Senator Campbell moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On lines 60-117, delete those lines
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16 and insert: liability. Notwithstanding any other provision of
17 law to the contrary, fault shall not be allocated to a
18 nonparty to the action, and no nonparty to the action, whether
19 named or unnamed, shall be included on the verdict form for
20 purposes of apportioning damages., except as provided in
21 paragraphs (a), (b), and (c):
22 (a) Where a plaintiff is found to be at fault, the
23 following shall apply:
24 1. Any defendant found 10 percent or less at fault
25 shall not be subject to joint and several liability.
26 2. For any defendant found more than 10 percent but
27 less than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability
28 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess
29 of $200,000.
30 3. For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not
31 more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability
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Florida Senate - 2005 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1513, 1st Eng.
Barcode 700272
1 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess
2 of $500,000.
3 4. For any defendant found more than 50 percent at
4 fault, joint and several liability shall not apply to that
5 portion of economic damages in excess of $1 million.
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7 For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or
8 subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated
9 under joint and several liability shall be in addition to the
10 amount of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned
11 to that defendant based on that defendant's percentage of
12 fault.
13 (b) Where a plaintiff is found to be without fault,
14 the following shall apply:
15 1. Any defendant found less than 10 percent at fault
16 shall not be subject to joint and several liability.
17 2. For any defendant found at least 10 percent but
18 less than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability
19 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess
20 of $500,000.
21 3. For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not
22 more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability
23 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess
24 of $1 million.
25 4. For any defendant found more than 50 percent at
26 fault, joint and several liability shall not apply to that
27 portion of economic damages in excess of $2 million.
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29 For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or
30 subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated
31 under joint and several liability shall be in addition to the
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Florida Senate - 2005 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1513, 1st Eng.
Barcode 700272
1 amount of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned
2 to that defendant based on that defendant's percentage of
3 fault.
4 (c) With respect to any defendant whose percentage of
5 fault is less than the fault of a particular plaintiff, the
6 doctrine of joint and several liability shall not apply to any
7 damages imposed against the defendant.
8 (d) In order to allocate any or all fault to a
9 nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a
10 nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the
11 nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically
12 as practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive
13 pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to
14 amendment any time before trial in accordance with the Florida
15 Rules of Civil Procedure.
16 (e) In order to allocate any or all fault to a
17 nonparty and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the
18 verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant
19 must prove at trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the
20 fault of the nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries.
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23 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
24 And the title is amended as follows:
25 On lines 9-11, delete those lines
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27 and insert:
28 768.81, F.S.; prohibiting allocation of fault
29 to a nonparty and inclusion on jury verdict
30 forms; deleting exceptions to a requirement for
31 liability based on percentage of fault instead
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Florida Senate - 2005 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. HB 1513, 1st Eng.
Barcode 700272
1 of joint and several liability; providing
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