Senate Bill sb2692
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2692
By Senator Aronberg
27-1364A-07 See HB 1167
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pilot programs for
3 specialized dispute resolution divisions;
4 providing legislative findings relating to
5 pilot programs of courts establishing
6 specialized divisions for adjudication and
7 resolution of complex business, corporate, and
8 commercial disputes; providing an
9 appropriation; providing for allocation of the
10 appropriation to certain judicial circuits for
11 certain purposes; providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Pilot programs for adjudication and
16 resolution of complex business, corporate, and commercial
17 disputes.--The Legislature finds that:
18 (1) Complex business, corporate, and commercial
19 disputes have tended to remain in the court system for
20 extended periods of time, which has resulted in substantial
21 costs to the litigants and to the court system as a whole and
22 has caused delays in the resolution of these and other types
23 of cases.
24 (2) Pilot programs establishing specialized divisions
25 or sections of the circuit courts to process, manage, and
26 adjudicate cases involving complex business, corporate, and
27 commercial disputes have been established in January 2004 in
28 the Ninth Judicial Circuit and in January 2007 in the Eleventh
29 and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits through administrative orders
30 entered by the chief judges in those circuits. The types of
31 cases which have been referred to those courts have included
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2692
27-1364A-07 See HB 1167
1 non-consumer actions under the Uniform Commercial Code;
2 actions relating to internal affairs or governance between or
3 among shareholders, partners, or members of business entities;
4 purchases and sales of businesses or the assets of businesses;
5 franchisor-franchisee relationships; actions relating to trade
6 secrets or non-compete agreements; actions relating to
7 business torts, intellectual property, antitrust, director and
8 officer liability; shareholder derivative actions; and other
9 actions of a complex commercial nature.
10 (3) A high degree of case management is required to
11 efficiently and expeditiously handle, process, and resolve
12 these types of cases, including the handling of discovery
13 disputes and motion practice, which necessitates the use of
14 more court resources, including law clerks, case managers,
15 special masters, and technological resources.
16 (4) Requiring the diversion of resources and funds
17 from other court programs to these specialized circuit court
18 divisions or sections to allow them to efficiently and
19 expeditiously handle these types of cases would not serve the
20 public interest.
21 Section 2. The sum of $ in nonrecurring funds
22 is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the circuit
23 courts in the Ninth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Judicial
24 Circuits for the 2007-2008 fiscal year to be used to hire law
25 clerks, case managers, and special masters and provide
26 technological resources to assist in operating the pilot
27 programs as established through administrative orders by the
28 chief judges in those circuits. The appropriation shall be
29 allocated as follows: $ to the Ninth Judicial
30 Circuit; $ to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit; and
31 $ to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2692
27-1364A-07 See HB 1167
1 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.