| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to negligence; amending s. 768.81, F.S.; |
| 3 | specifying how the trier of fact is to apportion damages |
| 4 | in products liability actions alleging additional or |
| 5 | enhanced injury resulting from the crash of a motor |
| 6 | vehicle alleged to be defective; providing that the |
| 7 | doctrine of joint and several liability applies to a tort |
| 8 | action brought by a first responder; defining the term |
| 9 | "first responder"; providing applicability; providing an |
| 10 | effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (3) and paragraph (b) of subsection |
| 15 | (4) of section 768.81, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 16 | 768.81 Comparative fault.- |
| 17 | (3) APPORTIONMENT OF DAMAGES.-In cases to which this |
| 18 | section applies, the court shall enter judgment against each |
| 19 | party liable on the basis of such party's percentage of fault |
| 20 | and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several |
| 21 | liability. |
| 22 | (a) In order to allocate any or all fault to a nonparty, a |
| 23 | defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a nonparty and, |
| 24 | absent a showing of good cause, identify the nonparty, if known, |
| 25 | or describe the nonparty as specifically as practicable, either |
| 26 | by motion or in the initial responsive pleading when defenses |
| 27 | are first presented, subject to amendment any time before trial |
| 28 | in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. |
| 29 | (b) In order to allocate any or all fault to a nonparty |
| 30 | and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the verdict form |
| 31 | for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant must prove at |
| 32 | trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fault of the |
| 33 | nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries. |
| 34 | (c) In a products liability action brought by the claimant |
| 35 | alleging that because of a defective product the injuries |
| 36 | received by the claimant in a motor vehicle accident were |
| 37 | greater than the injuries the claimant would have received but |
| 38 | for the defective product, the trier of fact shall consider only |
| 39 | the fault of the persons responsible for the accident in regard |
| 40 | to the injuries directly caused by the accident and shall |
| 41 | consider only the fault of the persons responsible for the |
| 42 | defective product in regard to the injuries directly caused by |
| 43 | the defective product, unless the trier of fact cannot |
| 44 | distinguish the injuries directly caused by the defective |
| 45 | product, in which case the trier of fact shall consider the |
| 46 | fault of all persons who contributed to the accident and the |
| 47 | injuries and apportion liability between them. |
| 48 | (4) APPLICABILITY.- |
| 49 | (b) This section does not apply to any action brought by |
| 50 | any person to recover actual economic damages resulting from |
| 51 | pollution, to any action based upon an intentional tort, to any |
| 52 | action brought by a first responder, or to any cause of action |
| 53 | as to which application of the doctrine of joint and several |
| 54 | liability is specifically provided by chapter 403, chapter 498, |
| 55 | chapter 517, chapter 542, or chapter 895. For purposes of this |
| 56 | paragraph, the term "first responder" means a law enforcement |
| 57 | officer as defined in s. 943.10, a firefighter as defined in s. |
| 58 | 633.30, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic as |
| 59 | defined in s. 401.23, whether such first responder is employed |
| 60 | full time, employed part time, or is a volunteer. |
| 61 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law |
| 62 | and shall apply to causes of action accruing on or after that |
| 63 | date. |