CS/HB 1167

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to pilot programs for specialized dispute
3resolution divisions; providing legislative findings
4relating to pilot programs of courts establishing
5specialized divisions for adjudication and resolution of
6complex business, corporate, and commercial disputes;
7authorizing the Legislature to appropriate funds to
8certain judicial circuits; providing for allocation of
9appropriations to such judicial circuits; providing an
10effective date.
11
12Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14     Section 1.  Pilot programs for adjudication and resolution
15of complex business, corporate, and commercial disputes.--The
16Legislature finds that:
17     (1)  Complex business, corporate, and commercial disputes
18have tended to remain in the court system for extended periods
19of time, which has resulted in substantial costs to the
20litigants and to the court system as a whole and has caused
21delays in the resolution of these and other types of cases.
22     (2)  Pilot programs establishing specialized divisions or
23sections of the circuit courts to process, manage, and
24adjudicate cases involving complex business, corporate, and
25commercial disputes have been established in January 2004 in the
26Ninth Judicial Circuit and in January 2007 in the Eleventh and
27Thirteenth Judicial Circuits through administrative orders
28entered by the chief judges in those circuits. The types of
29cases which have been referred to those courts have included
30non-consumer actions under the Uniform Commercial Code; actions
31relating to internal affairs or governance between or among
32shareholders, partners, or members of business entities;
33purchases and sales of businesses or the assets of businesses;
34franchisor-franchisee relationships; actions relating to trade
35secrets or non-compete agreements; actions relating to business
36torts, intellectual property, antitrust, director and officer
37liability; shareholder derivative actions; and other actions of
38a complex commercial nature.
39     (3)  A high degree of case management is required to
40efficiently and expeditiously handle, process, and resolve these
41types of cases, including the handling of discovery disputes and
42motion practice, which necessitates the use of more court
43resources, including law clerks, case managers, special masters,
44and technological resources.
45     (4)  Requiring the diversion of resources and funds from
46other court programs to these specialized circuit court
47divisions or sections to allow them to efficiently and
48expeditiously handle these types of cases would not serve the
49public interest.
50     Section 2.  The Legislature may appropriate funds to the
51circuit courts in the Ninth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Judicial
52circuits for the 2007-2008 fiscal year to be used to hire law
53clerks, case managers, and special masters and provide
54technological resources to assist in operating the pilot
55programs as established through administrative orders by the
56chief judges in those circuits. The appropriation shall be
57allocated between the circuits as set forth in the General
58Appropriations Act.
59     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


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