HB
145 the Repeal of Joint & Several Liability
Passes
the House Justice Council
February 22,
2006
This morning,
the House Justice Council passed HB 145 by Representative Don
Brown (R-DeFuniak Springs) which repeals the doctrine of joint
and several liability. This is the number one priority for the 2006
Legislative Session for AIF and the entire business community.
In his opening remarks,
Representative Brown stated that this is “a simple and straightforward
bill” which simply provides a sense of fairness to the legal system
for torts. He noted that the committee staff had accurately remarked
in the bill’s staff analysis that “This would complete a trend begun
by the Legislature in 1986 and continued in further reforms in 1999.”
Representative Brown commented that it is now time for the “last remaining
vestiges of the unfair doctrine of joint and several to be repealed.”
Rep. Brown’s eloquently
provided the Council members with a history of the comparative negligence
system and provided them with several references where the courts have
commented that the doctrine of joint and several liability is inherently
unfair and that it is the legislature’s responsibility to set the policy
on this issue.
No amendments were filed
to this bill. Due to time constraints there was not an enormous amount
of public testimony on this issue. However, over 30 businesses and business
organizations submitted cards to Chairman Bruce Kyle (R-Ft.
Myers) indicating their strong support of this bill. In deference
to the Chairman, all business lobbyists waved their time in support
of the bill. Attorney George Meros did testify to address some of the
concerns expressed by the Democratic members of the committee. During
debate, Vice Chairman Carl Domino (R-Palm Beach Gardens) voiced his approval of this legislation and pointed out that any requirement
of paying more than one’s fair share of responsibility was the best
policy for the state to embrace. Representatives John Quinones
(R-Kissimmee) and Mark Mahon (R-Jacksonville) both expressed
some concerns over the issue of Fabre and how unnamed parties would
be affected by the passage of this legislation. Rep. Brown addressed
their concerns by saying previous precedent makes it clear that it is
the obligation of the defendant to lay out the elements of the case
and it is the obligation of the defense to make those unnamed parties
known. Representative Greg Evers (R-Milton) commended
the sponsor for bringing this “good business bill” forward, but inquired
as to whether the repeal of Joint & Several liability would do anything
to lower insurance rates. Representative Brown responded by saying that
this legislation was about correcting the fundamental unfairness of
the legal system in Florida and not about insurance rates.
The House Justice Council
approved this bill by an 8-2 vote. The Representatives voting in favor
of the bill were Chairman Kyle, Vice Chairman Domino, Representative
Greg Evers (R-Milton), Representative Dick Kravitz (R-Orange Park),
Representative Marcello Llorente (R-Miami), Representative Mark Mahon
(R-Jacksonville), Representative John Quinones (R-Kissimmee) and Representative
David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs). The two dissenting votes
were from Representative Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) and Representative
Irv Slosberg (D-Boca Raton).
AIF commends Chairman
Kyle for his leadership in hearing and helping to pass this bill out
of the Council today and salutes Representative Brown for continuing
to lead the charge on this important legislation. We encourage you to
contact all the Council members who voted for the bill to thank them
for their support of HB 145. Encourage them to continue supporting this
legislation without additional amendments when it comes to the full
House for a vote. The bill has no additional committees of reference
and will next be heard on the floor of the House, probably within the
first two weeks of session.
