FLA. SIGNS TORT REFORM

Gov. Jeb Bush signed Florida HB 145, that promises to bring greater equity to the civil justice system by repealing the doctrine of joint and several liability.

“The scales of justice have been balanced,” William Stander, assistant vice president and regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said. “This is an important step forward that will improve the business environment and restore fairness to Florida’s civil justice system.”

Stander congratulated Gov. Bush on signing this legislation and thanked the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Dan Webster and Rep. Don Brown, along with Senate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allan Bense.

“We are proud to be part of a broad-based coalition for legal reform committed to achieving fairness in the civil justice system,” Stander said.

Joint and several liability laws allow a level of liability to be assessed to a party regardless of level of fault in a matter. Under this legal concept, a defendant can be held liable for full damages even if he or she is only marginally responsible for an injury.

HB 145 removes exceptions in Florida law that permit “joint and several liability” rather than proportional liability based on percentage of fault. Florida joins nearly two dozen states that have eliminated joint and several liability laws from the books.

“This repeal will restore the predictability of the civil justice system and that is crucial to creating a stable insurance marketplace,” Stander said. “Stopping litigants from targeting insurers and corporations that are thought to have ‘deep pockets’ will benefit citizens in Florida.”