HB 1513

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The State Administration Council recommends the following:
2
3	Council/Committee Substitute
4	Remove the entire bill and insert:
5	A bill to be entitled
6	An act relating to civil justice reform; amending s.
7	47.051, F.S.; revising procedures for bringing actions
8	against corporations; providing a definition; creating s.
9	768.1259, F.S.; defining the term "seller"; prohibiting
10	commencing or maintaining a civil claim or action against
11	a seller under certain circumstances; specifying criteria
12	for actions for product liability of a seller; amending s.
13	768.81, F.S.; deleting exceptions to a requirement for
14	liability based on percentage of fault instead of joint
15	and several liability; providing applicability; providing
16	an effective date.
17
18	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20	Section 1.  Section 47.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to
21	read:
22	47.051  Actions against corporations.--Actions against
23	domestic corporations shall be brought only in the county where
24	such corporation has its principal office, or usually keeps, an
25	office for transaction of its customary business, where the
26	cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is
27	located. Actions against foreign corporations doing business in
28	this state shall be brought in the county in which its
29	registered agent for service of process resides a county where
30	such corporation has an agent or other representative, where the
31	cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is
32	located. For purposes of this section, the term "principal
33	office" means the office in the state in which the principal
34	executive office is located.
35	Section 2.  Section 768.1259, Florida Statutes, is created
36	to read:
37	768.1259  Protection from liability for sellers.--
38	(1)  As used in this section, the term "seller" means a
39	person who sells a product as a retailer, distributor, or
40	wholesaler or who otherwise transfers a product to another for
41	compensation.
42	(2)  A person may not commence or maintain a civil claim or
43	action against the seller of a product based on a claim that the
44	product contained a defect which proximately caused injury to
45	that person unless the seller:
46	(a)  Manufactured, produced, or designed the product;
47	(b)  Altered, modified, assembled, or failed to maintain
48	the product in a manner that caused harm to the claimant;
49	(c)  Had actual knowledge of a manufacturing defect which
50	proximately caused the person's harm; or
51	(d)  Knew, or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should
52	have known, that the product was recalled prior to sale and the
53	defect identified in the recall proximately cause the injury
54	complained of.
55	(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), the seller of a
56	product is subject to an action for product liability if the
57	manufacturer of the product is not subject to personal
58	jurisdiction in this state or if the manufacturer is insolvent.
59	Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 768.81, Florida
60	Statutes, is amended to read:
61	768.81  Comparative fault.--
62	(3)  APPORTIONMENT OF DAMAGES.--In cases to which this
63	section applies, the court shall enter judgment against each
64	party liable on the basis of such party's percentage of fault
65	and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several
66	liability., except as provided in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c):
67	(a)  Where a plaintiff is found to be at fault, the
68	following shall apply:
69	1.  Any defendant found 10 percent or less at fault shall
70	not be subject to joint and several liability.
71	2.  For any defendant found more than 10 percent but less
72	than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability shall not
73	apply to that portion of economic damages in excess of $200,000.
74	3.  For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not
75	more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability shall
76	not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess of
77	$500,000.
78	4.  For any defendant found more than 50 percent at fault,
79	joint and several liability shall not apply to that portion of
80	economic damages in excess of $1 million.
81
82	For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or
83	subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated under
84	joint and several liability shall be in addition to the amount
85	of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned to that
86	defendant based on that defendant's percentage of fault.
87	(b)  Where a plaintiff is found to be without fault, the
88	following shall apply:
89	1.  Any defendant found less than 10 percent at fault shall
90	not be subject to joint and several liability.
91	2.  For any defendant found at least 10 percent but less
92	than 25 percent at fault, joint and several liability shall not
93	apply to that portion of economic damages in excess of $500,000.
94	3.  For any defendant found at least 25 percent but not
95	more than 50 percent at fault, joint and several liability shall
96	not apply to that portion of economic damages in excess of $1
97	million.
98	4.  For any defendant found more than 50 percent at fault,
99	joint and several liability shall not apply to that portion of
100	economic damages in excess of $2 million.
101
102	For any defendant under subparagraph 2., subparagraph 3., or
103	subparagraph 4., the amount of economic damages calculated under
104	joint and several liability shall be in addition to the amount
105	of economic and noneconomic damages already apportioned to that
106	defendant based on that defendant's percentage of fault.
107	(c)  With respect to any defendant whose percentage of
108	fault is less than the fault of a particular plaintiff, the
109	doctrine of joint and several liability shall not apply to any
110	damages imposed against the defendant.
111	(a)(d)  In order to allocate any or all fault to a
112	nonparty, a defendant must affirmatively plead the fault of a
113	nonparty and, absent a showing of good cause, identify the
114	nonparty, if known, or describe the nonparty as specifically as
115	practicable, either by motion or in the initial responsive
116	pleading when defenses are first presented, subject to amendment
117	any time before trial in accordance with the Florida Rules of
118	Civil Procedure.
119	(b)(e)  In order to allocate any or all fault to a nonparty
120	and include the named or unnamed nonparty on the verdict form
121	for purposes of apportioning damages, a defendant must prove at
122	trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fault of the
123	nonparty in causing the plaintiff's injuries.
124	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
125	and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or after the
126	effective date.

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