| 1 | The Justice Council recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to supersedeas bond; creating s. 768.734, |
| 7 | F.S.; providing limits on the amount of supersedeas bond |
| 8 | necessary to stay execution of a judgment; limiting the |
| 9 | amount of supersedeas bond required for certain |
| 10 | appellants; providing an exception to limits if an |
| 11 | appellant engages in certain conduct for the purpose of |
| 12 | avoiding payment of the judgment; providing applicability; |
| 13 | providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Section 768.734, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 18 | to read: |
| 19 | 768.734 Limitations on supersedeas bond; exception.-- |
| 20 | (1) Except for certified class actions subject to s. |
| 21 | 768.733, in any civil action brought under any legal theory, the |
| 22 | amount of a supersedeas bond necessary to stay execution of a |
| 23 | judgment granting any type of relief during the entire course of |
| 24 | all appeals or discretionary reviews shall not exceed $25 |
| 25 | million for each appellant, regardless of the amount of the |
| 26 | judgment appealed. |
| 27 | (2) If an appellant is an individual or is an |
| 28 | independently owned and operated business with 300 or fewer |
| 29 | full-time employees, the supersedeas bond may not exceed 5 |
| 30 | percent of the appellant's net assets or $5 million, whichever |
| 31 | is greater. |
| 32 | (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), if an |
| 33 | appellee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an |
| 34 | appellant who has posted a supersedeas bond is intentionally |
| 35 | dissipating or diverting assets outside the course of its |
| 36 | ordinary business for the purpose of avoiding payment of the |
| 37 | judgment, then in addition to the rights and liability set forth |
| 38 | in ss. 607.06401 and 607.0834, a court may enter orders |
| 39 | necessary to protect the appellee, including reasonable but |
| 40 | narrowly tailored discovery under Rule 1.280, Florida Rules of |
| 41 | Civil Procedure, or that require the appellant to post a |
| 42 | supersedeas bond in an amount up to and including the total |
| 43 | amount of the judgment. |
| 44 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, and |
| 45 | shall apply to judgments rendered on or after that date. |