Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 472
By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Senator Brodeur
585-02597A-24 2024472c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to suits against the government;
3 amending s. 47.011, F.S.; abolishing the common-law
4 doctrine of home venue privilege with respect to
5 action against the state; amending s. 768.28, F.S.;
6 increasing the statutory limits on liability for tort
7 claims against the state and its agencies and
8 subdivisions; prohibiting insurance policies from
9 placing conditions for payment upon the enactment of a
10 claim bill; authorizing a subdivision of the state to
11 settle a claim in excess of the statutory limit
12 without further action by the Legislature regardless
13 of insurance coverage limits; prohibiting a party from
14 lobbying against any agreed upon settlement brought to
15 the Legislature as a claim bill; specifying that the
16 limitations in effect on the date a final judgment is
17 entered apply to that claim; requiring the Department
18 of Financial Services to adjust the limitations on
19 tort liability every 5 years after a specified date;
20 revising the period within which certain claims must
21 be presented to certain entities; revising exceptions
22 relating to instituting actions on tort claims against
23 the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions;
24 revising the period after which the failure of certain
25 entities to make final disposition of a claim shall be
26 deemed a final denial of the claim for certain
27 purposes; revising the statute of limitations for tort
28 claims against the state or one of its agencies or
29 subdivisions and exceptions thereto; providing a
30 claimant a specific timeframe to file suit; reenacting
31 ss. 45.061, 110.504, 111.071, 125.01015, 163.01,
32 190.043, 213.015, 252.51, 252.89, 252.944, 260.0125,
33 284.31, 284.38, 322.13, 337.19, 341.302, 351.03,
34 373.1395, 375.251, 381.0056, 393.075, 394.9085,
35 395.1055, 403.706, 409.175, 409.993, 420.504, 420.507,
36 455.221, 455.32, 456.009, 456.076, 471.038, 472.006,
37 497.167, 513.118, 548.046, 556.106, 589.19, 627.7491,
38 723.0611, 760.11, 766.1115, 766.112, 768.1355,
39 768.1382, 768.295, 944.713, 946.5026, 946.514, 961.06,
40 1002.33, 1002.333, 1002.34, 1002.351, 1002.37,
41 1002.55, 1002.83, 1002.88, 1006.24, and 1006.261,
42 F.S., to incorporate the amendments made to s. 768.28,
43 F.S., in references thereto; providing applicability;
44 providing an effective date.
45
46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48 Section 1. Section 47.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to
49 read:
50 47.011 Where actions may be begun.—
51 (1) Actions shall be brought only in the county where the
52 defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where
53 the property in litigation is located. This section shall not
54 apply to actions against nonresidents.
55 (2) The common-law doctrine of home venue privilege is
56 abolished with respect to civil actions brought against the
57 state. This subsection does not affect any venue provision
58 otherwise established in law.
59 Section 2. Subsection (5), paragraphs (a) and (d) of
60 subsection (6), and subsection (14) of section 768.28, Florida
61 Statutes, are amended to read:
62 768.28 Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
63 recovery limits; civil liability for damages caused during a
64 riot; limitation on attorney fees; statute of limitations;
65 exclusions; indemnification; risk management programs.—
66 (5)(a) The state and its agencies and subdivisions shall be
67 liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the same extent
68 as a private individual under like circumstances, but liability
69 shall not include punitive damages or interest for the period
70 before judgment. Neither the state nor its agencies or
71 subdivisions shall be liable to pay a claim or a judgment by any
72 one person which exceeds the sum of $400,000 $200,000 or any
73 claim or judgment, or portions thereof, which, when totaled with
74 all other claims or judgments paid by the state or its agencies
75 or subdivisions arising out of the same incident or occurrence,
76 exceeds the sum of $600,000 $300,000. However, a judgment or
77 judgments may be claimed and rendered in excess of these amounts
78 and may be settled and paid pursuant to this act up to $400,000
79 or $600,000 $200,000 or $300,000, as the case may be; and that
80 portion of the judgment that exceeds these amounts may be
81 reported to the Legislature, and but may be paid in part or in
82 whole only by further act of the Legislature.
83 (b) Notwithstanding the limited waiver of sovereign
84 immunity provided in paragraph (a):
85 1. herein, The state or an agency or subdivision thereof
86 may agree, within the limits of insurance coverage provided, to
87 settle a claim made or a judgment rendered against it in excess
88 of the waiver provided in paragraph (a) without further action
89 by the Legislature.
90 2. A subdivision of the state may agree to settle a claim
91 made or a judgment rendered against it in excess of the waiver
92 provided in paragraph (a) without further action by the
93 Legislature.
94
95 However, but the state or an agency or subdivision thereof shall
96 not be deemed to have waived any defense of sovereign immunity
97 or to have increased the limits of its liability as a result of
98 its obtaining insurance coverage for tortious acts in excess of
99 the $200,000 or $300,000 waiver provided in paragraph (a).
100 However, a party may not lobby against any agreed upon
101 settlement brought to the Legislature as a settled claim bill
102 above. An insurance policy may not condition the payment of
103 benefits, in whole or in part, on the enactment of a claim bill.
104 (c) The limitations of liability set forth in this
105 subsection shall apply to the state and its agencies and
106 subdivisions whether or not the state or its agencies or
107 subdivisions possessed sovereign immunity before July 1, 1974.
108 (d)(b) A municipality has a duty to allow the municipal law
109 enforcement agency to respond appropriately to protect persons
110 and property during a riot or an unlawful assembly based on the
111 availability of adequate equipment to its municipal law
112 enforcement officers and relevant state and federal laws. If the
113 governing body of a municipality or a person authorized by the
114 governing body of the municipality breaches that duty, the
115 municipality is civilly liable for any damages, including
116 damages arising from personal injury, wrongful death, or
117 property damages proximately caused by the municipality’s breach
118 of duty. The sovereign immunity recovery limits in paragraph (a)
119 do not apply to an action under this paragraph.
120 (e) When determining liability limits for a claim, the
121 limitations of liability in effect on the date a final judgment
122 is entered shall apply to the settled claim.
123 (f) Beginning July 1, 2029, and on July 1 every 5 years
124 thereafter, the Department of Financial Services shall adjust
125 the limitations of liability in this subsection to reflect
126 changes in the Consumer Price Index for the Southeast or a
127 successor index as calculated by the United States Department of
128 Labor.
129 (6)(a) An action may not be instituted on a claim against
130 the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions unless the
131 claimant presents the claim in writing to the appropriate
132 agency, and also, except as to any claim against a municipality,
133 county, or the Florida Space Authority, presents such claim in
134 writing to the Department of Financial Services, within 18
135 months 3 years after such claim accrues and the Department of
136 Financial Services or the appropriate agency denies the claim in
137 writing; except that, if:
138 1. Such claim is for contribution pursuant to s. 768.31, it
139 must be so presented within 6 months after the judgment against
140 the tortfeasor seeking contribution has become final by lapse of
141 time for appeal or after appellate review or, if there is no
142 such judgment, within 6 months after the tortfeasor seeking
143 contribution has either discharged the common liability by
144 payment or agreed, while the action is pending against her or
145 him, to discharge the common liability; or
146 2. Such action arises from a violation of s. 794.011
147 involving a victim who was younger than 16 years of age at the
148 time of the act, the claimant may present the claim in writing
149 at any time pursuant to s. 95.11(9) is for wrongful death, the
150 claimant must present the claim in writing to the Department of
151 Financial Services within 2 years after the claim accrues.
152 (d) For purposes of this section, complete, accurate, and timely
153 compliance with the requirements of paragraph (c) shall occur
154 prior to settlement payment, close of discovery or commencement
155 of trial, whichever is sooner; provided the ability to plead
156 setoff is not precluded by the delay. This setoff shall apply
157 only against that part of the settlement or judgment payable to
158 the claimant, minus claimant’s reasonable attorney’s fees and
159 costs. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure of unpaid adjudicated
160 claims due the state, its agency, officer, or subdivision, may
161 be excused by the court upon a showing by the preponderance of
162 the evidence of the claimant’s lack of knowledge of an
163 adjudicated claim and reasonable inquiry by, or on behalf of,
164 the claimant to obtain the information from public records.
165 Unless the appropriate agency had actual notice of the
166 information required to be disclosed by paragraph (c) in time to
167 assert a setoff, an unexcused failure to disclose shall, upon
168 hearing and order of court, cause the claimant to be liable for
169 double the original undisclosed judgment and, upon further
170 motion, the court shall enter judgment for the agency in that
171 amount. Except as provided otherwise in this subsection, the
172 failure of the Department of Financial Services or the
173 appropriate agency to make final disposition of a claim within 4
174 6 months after it is filed shall be deemed a final denial of the
175 claim for purposes of this section. For purposes of this
176 subsection, in medical malpractice actions and in wrongful death
177 actions, the failure of the Department of Financial Services or
178 the appropriate agency to make final disposition of a claim
179 within 90 days after it is filed shall be deemed a final denial
180 of the claim. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice
181 actions and wrongful death actions is tolled as to all
182 prospective defendants for the period of time taken by the
183 Department of Financial Services or the appropriate agency to
184 deny the claim. The claimant has 60 days from the date of the
185 Department of Financial Services’ or the appropriate agency’s
186 final disposition of a claim or the date at which final denial
187 of the claim is deemed to have occurred, or the remainder of the
188 period of the statute of limitations, whichever is greater,
189 within which to file suit. The provisions of this subsection do
190 not apply to such claims as may be asserted by counterclaim
191 pursuant to s. 768.14.
192 (14) Every claim against the state or one of its agencies
193 or subdivisions for damages for a negligent or wrongful act or
194 omission pursuant to this section shall be forever barred unless
195 the civil action is commenced by filing a complaint in the court
196 of appropriate jurisdiction:
197 (a) Within 2 4 years for an action founded on negligence.
198 (b) Within the limitations provided in s. 768.31(4) for an
199 action for contribution.
200 (c) Within the limitations provided in s. 95.11(4) for an
201 action for damages arising from medical malpractice or wrongful
202 death.
203 (d) At any time for an action arising from acts
204 constituting a violation of s. 794.011 involving a victim who
205 was younger than 16 years of age pursuant to s. 95.11(9).
206 (e) Within 4 years for any other action not specified in
207 this subsection after such claim accrues; except that an action
208 for contribution must be commenced within the limitations
209 provided in s. 768.31(4), and an action for damages arising from
210 medical malpractice or wrongful death must be commenced within
211 the limitations for such actions in s. 95.11(4).
212 Section 3. Sections 45.061, 110.504, 111.071, 125.01015,
213 163.01, 190.043, 213.015, 252.51, 252.89, 252.944, 260.0125,
214 284.31, 284.38, 322.13, 337.19, 341.302, 351.03, 373.1395,
215 375.251, 381.0056, 393.075, 394.9085, 395.1055, 403.706,
216 409.175, 409.993, 420.504, 420.507, 455.221, 455.32, 456.009,
217 456.076, 471.038, 472.006, 497.167, 513.118, 548.046, 556.106,
218 589.19, 627.7491, 723.0611, 760.11, 766.1115, 766.112, 768.1355,
219 768.1382, 768.295, 944.713, 946.5026, 946.514, 961.06, 1002.33,
220 1002.333, 1002.34, 1002.351, 1002.37, 1002.55, 1002.83, 1002.88,
221 1006.24, and 1006.261, Florida Statutes, are reenacted for the
222 purpose of incorporating the amendments made by this act to s.
223 768.28, Florida Statutes, in references thereto.
224 Section 4. This act applies to claims accruing on or after
225 October 1, 2024.
226 Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.