Florida Senate - 2006                        SENATOR AMENDMENT
    Bill No. HB 145
                        Barcode 961204
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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 3         Floor: WD/2R            .                    
       03/29/2006 09:09 AM         .                    
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11  Senator Webster moved the following substitute for amendment
12  (912970):
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14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
15         Delete everything after the enacting clause
16  
17  and insert:  
18         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 768.81, Florida
19  Statutes, is amended to read:
20         768.81  Comparative fault.--
21         (3)  APPORTIONMENT OF DAMAGES.--In cases to which this
22  section applies, the court shall enter judgment against each
23  party liable on the basis of such party's percentage of fault
24  and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several
25  liability., except as provided in paragraphs (a), (b), and
26  (c):
27         (a)  Where a plaintiff is found to be at fault, the
28  following shall apply:
29         1.  Any defendant found 10 percent or less at fault
30  shall not be subject to joint and several liability.
31         2.  For any defendant found more than 10 percent but
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    4:16 PM   03/28/06                              h0145.09ju.01p

Florida Senate - 2006 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 145 Barcode 961204 1 less than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability 2 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess 3 of $200,000. 4 3. For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not 5 more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability 6 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess 7 of $500,000. 8 4. For any defendant found more than 50 percent at 9 fault, joint and several liability shall not apply to that 10 portion of economic damages in excess of $1 million. 11 12 For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or 13 subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated 14 under joint and several liability shall be in addition to the 15 amount of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned 16 to that defendant based on that defendant's percentage of 17 fault. 18 (b) Where a plaintiff is found to be without fault, 19 the following shall apply: 20 1. Any defendant found less than 10 percent at fault 21 shall not be subject to joint and several liability. 22 2. For any defendant found at least 10 percent but 23 less than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability 24 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess 25 of $500,000. 26 3. For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not 27 more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability 28 shall not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess 29 of $1 million. 30 4. For any defendant found more than 50 percent at 31 fault, joint and several liability shall not apply to that 2 4:16 PM 03/28/06 h0145.09ju.01p
Florida Senate - 2006 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 145 Barcode 961204 1 portion of economic damages in excess of $2 million. 2 3 For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or 4 subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated 5 under joint and several liability shall be in addition to the 6 amount of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned 7 to that defendant based on that defendant's percentage of 8 fault. 9 (c) With respect to any defendant whose percentage of 10 fault is less than the fault of a particular plaintiff, the 11 doctrine of joint and several liability shall not apply to any 12 damages imposed against the defendant. 13 (a)(d) In order to allocate any or all fault to a 14 nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a 15 nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the 16 nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically 17 as practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive 18 pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to 19 amendment any time before trial in accordance with the Florida 20 Rules of Civil Procedure. 21 (b)(e) In order to allocate any or all fault to a 22 nonparty and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the 23 verdict form for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant 24 must prove at trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the 25 fault of the nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries. 26 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 27 law and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or 28 after the effective date. 29 30 31 3 4:16 PM 03/28/06 h0145.09ju.01p
Florida Senate - 2006 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 145 Barcode 961204 1 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =============== 2 And the title is amended as follows: 3 Delete everything before the enacting clause 4 5 and insert: 6 A bill to be entitled 7 An act relating to apportionment of damages in 8 civil actions; amending s. 768.81, F.S.; 9 deleting exceptions to a requirement for 10 liability based on percentage of fault instead 11 of joint and several liability; providing 12 applicability; providing an effective date. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 4 4:16 PM 03/28/06 h0145.09ju.01p