Senate Bill sb2564c1

    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2564

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Webster, King and
    Clary




    590-2254-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to class action lawsuits;

  3         creating s. 774.01, F.S.; providing

  4         requirements for capacity to file a class

  5         action; limiting actions to Florida residents;

  6         providing exceptions; providing requirements

  7         for monetary relief; eliminating private class

  8         action recovery of statutory penalties and

  9         other forms of monetary relief other than

10         actual damages; providing monetary relief;

11         providing for availability of nonmonetary

12         relief; providing an effective date.

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

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16         Section 1.  Section 774.01, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         774.01  Capacity to sue.--

19         (1)(a)  In any action asserting the right to class

20  action status, the claimant class with capacity to sue shall

21  be limited to residents of this state at the time of the

22  alleged misconduct, except as provided in paragraph (b).

23         (b)  Prior to issuance of the certification order, the

24  court may expand a class to include any nonresident whose

25  claim is recognized within the claimant's state of residence

26  and is not time-barred, but whose rights cannot be asserted

27  because the claimant's state of residence lacks personal

28  jurisdiction over the defendant or defendants. In addition,

29  the claimant class may include nonresidents if the conduct

30  giving rise to the claim occurred in or emanated from this

31  state.

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






    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2564
    590-2254-05




 1         (2)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, in order

 2  to maintain a class action seeking monetary relief, the class

 3  must allege and prove actual damages. In any such class

 4  action, the monetary recovery shall be limited to the amount

 5  of actual damages. Nothing in this section shall be construed

 6  to limit or restrict the ability of the Attorney General to

 7  bring a class action for the recovery of statutory penalties,

 8  if otherwise authorized by law. However, class action

 9  claimants may seek to obtain, if appropriate, nonmonetary

10  relief, including injunctive relief and orders or declaratory

11  relief and orders or judgments enjoining wrongful conduct,

12  regardless of whether the class action claimants can prove any

13  actual monetary damages. Nothing in this section shall be

14  construed to in any way limit or restrict the availability of

15  such nonmonetary relief.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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18          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
19                         Senate Bill 2564

20                                 

21  The committee substitute removes provisions from the
    underlying bill which would have required notice to a
22  defendant and an opportunity to cure alleged misconduct during
    a 60-day period before a lawsuit is filed seeking class
23  status.

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