Florida Senate - 2017                       CS for CS for SB 334
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Rules; and Judiciary; and Senator Steube
       
       
       
       
       
       595-03065-17                                           2017334c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to prejudgment interest; creating s.
    3         55.035, F.S.; requiring a court to include interest on
    4         economic damages and costs in the final judgment of a
    5         negligence action as a result of a personal injury;
    6         specifying the date from which interest accrues;
    7         prescribing the applicable interest rate; providing
    8         applicability; providing an effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 55.035, Florida Statutes, is created to
   13  read:
   14         55.035 Prejudgment interest.—In a negligence action in
   15  which a plaintiff recovers economic damages as the result of a
   16  personal injury, the court shall include in the final judgment
   17  interest on each component of economic damages. Such interest
   18  accrues from the date of the loss of an economic benefit or
   19  payment made by the plaintiff. If the plaintiff recovers costs,
   20  the court shall include in the final judgment interest on such
   21  costs beginning on the first day of the month immediately
   22  following the month in which costs were paid. The rate of
   23  interest applicable to this section is the rate established
   24  pursuant to s. 55.03.
   25         Section 2. This act applies to causes of action that accrue
   26  on or after July 1, 2017.
   27         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.