Amendment
Bill No. 1931
Amendment No. 372699
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative(s) Simmons and Brown offered the following:
2
3     Amendment to Senate Amendment (702196) (with title
4amendment)
5     On page 1, line(s) 17, through page 2, line 6,
6remove:  all of said lines
7
8and insert:
9     Section 1.  Section 768.0755, Florida Statutes, is created
10to read:
11     768.0755  Premises liability for transitory foreign
12substances on business premises.--If a person slips and falls on
13a transitory foreign substance on business premises, the injured
14person must prove that the business had actual or constructive
15knowledge of the dangerous condition in that the condition
16existed for a sufficient length of time so that, in the exercise
17of ordinary care, the business should have known of the
18dangerous condition and taken action to remedy it. Constructive
19knowledge may be proven by circumstantial evidence showing that:
20     (1)  The dangerous condition existed for such a length of
21time that in the exercise of ordinary care, the business should
22have known of the condition; or
23     (2)  The condition occurred with regularity and was
24therefore foreseeable.
25     Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
26768.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27     (4)  APPLICABILITY.--
28     (b)  This section does not apply to any action brought by
29any person to recover actual economic damages resulting from
30pollution, to any action based upon an intentional tort that
31occurs in an indoor area of a business, or to any cause of
32action as to which application of the doctrine of joint and
33several liability is specifically provided by chapter 403,
34chapter 498, chapter 517, chapter 542, or chapter 895.
35     Section 3.  Section 768.0710, Florida Statutes, is
36repealed.
37     Section 4.  For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
38made by this act to section 768.81, Florida Statutes, in
39references thereto, section 25.077, Florida Statutes, is
40reenacted to read:
41     25.077  Negligence case settlements and jury verdicts; case
42reporting.--Through the state's uniform case reporting system,
43the clerk of court shall report to the Office of the State
44Courts Administrator, beginning in 2003, information from each
45settlement or jury verdict and final judgment in negligence
46cases as defined in s. 768.81(4), as the President of the Senate
47and the Speaker of the House of Representatives deem necessary
48from time to time. The information shall include, but need not
49be limited to: the name of each plaintiff and defendant; the
50verdict; the percentage of fault of each; the amount of economic
51damages and noneconomic damages awarded to each plaintiff,
52identifying those damages that are to be paid jointly and
53severally and by which defendants; and the amount of any
54punitive damages to be paid by each defendant.
55     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.
56
57======= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T =========
58     On page 1, line(s) 14-28,
59remove:  all of said lines
60
61and insert:
62
A bill to be entitled
63An act relating to negligence; creating s. 768.0755, F.S.;
64providing that if a person slips and falls on a transitory
65foreign substance on business premises, the injured person
66must prove that the business had knowledge of the
67condition in that the condition existed for a sufficient
68time for the business to have taken action to remedy the
69condition; providing that constructive knowledge may be
70proven by circumstantial evidence; amending s. 768.81,
71F.S., relating to comparative fault; providing that the
72section does not apply to an intentional tort that occurs
73in an indoor area of a business; repealing s. 768.0710,
74F.S., relating to the duty to maintain premises in a
75reasonably safe condition for the safety of business
76invitees; reenacting s. 25.077, F.S., relating to the duty
77of the clerk of court to report certain information
78concerning negligence cases, to incorporate the amendment
79made to s. 768.81, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing
80an effective date.


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