Copyright 1999 Times Publishing Company
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April 28, 1999, Wednesday, 0 South Pinellas
Edition
SECTION: CITY & STATE; Pg. 4B
DISTRIBUTION: CITY & STATE; METRO & STATE;
TAMPA & STATE
LENGTH: 669 words
HEADLINE: Lawmakers closer to agreeing on tort
reforms
BYLINE: PETER WALLSTEN; TIM NICKENS
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE
BODY:
The proposed changes in civil court legislation give businesses more
protection from lawsuits.
Just when prospects looked grim for an
overhaul of the civil court system, legislators indicated Tuesday they could
agree today to give businesses more protection from lawsuits.
Senate
Majority Leader Jack Latvala led the effort late Tuesday to draft a compromise
that is expected to be well-received by House negotiators today. He said
prospects are good that the Legislature will approve sweeping changes to the
court system before its scheduled adjournment Friday. "I wouldn't say there is a
deal until things are written down," said Latvala, R-Palm Harbor. "We have
pursued this very determinedly to get this done."
After daylong shuttle
diplomacy involving House and Senate members and the governor's legislative
aides, lawmakers from both chambers talked optimistically about prospects for a
deal.
"There will be a bill passed, and it will be satisfying to the
governor, and the business community will be happy with it," said Ken
Plante, Gov. Jeb Bush's chief lobbyist.
Latvala said the general
provisions of the compromise are expected to include:
Limits on
liability of defendants who are only partially at fault and on punitive damages,
which are awards that punish negligent companies. Latvala said the limits would
be on a sliding scale, based on the percentage of fault and the severity of the
conduct. He would not disclose the specific limits but said they would be higher
than the limits in a bill passed by the House earlier in the session.
The House had capped punitive damages at $ 250,000. The Senate bill
would have allowed unlimited awards.
Different rules for medical
malpractice lawsuits; plaintiffs would have the potential to collect higher
awards.
Protection against lawsuits over products at least 12 years old,
which was in the House bill. The Senate originally wanted an 18-year limit. The
12-year limit would not apply to aircraft, elevators, escalators and ships.
As business lobbyists working the Capitol halls looked upbeat on
Tuesday, advocates for the state's trial lawyers appeared more somber and
disappointed.
"They want all or nothing," said Scott Carruthers,
executive director of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. "They want to rob
consumers of their rights and leave nothing behind."
If a bill is passed
- and gets Bush's blessing - it would be the culmination of more than a decade
of lobbying by Florida's business community. A version of the plan passed the
Republican-led Legislature last year but was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Lawton
Chiles.
As a candidate, Bush said he would have signed the bill. The
promise raised the stakes this year, as lawmakers knew that whatever they passed
would have a good chance of becoming law. The realization was cited Tuesday as
one reason why some Republicans who supported the plan last year were hesitant
to support it this time.
"Last year's bill was a free vote because
everyone knew Lawton was going to veto it," said state Sen. Locke Burt,
R-Ormond Beach, who voted for the plan last year and said he did not think he
would support it this year if it included caps on punitive damage awards.
On Monday and Tuesday, business lobbyists leaned on as many as seven
Republican senators who were wavering, hoping to gain enough ground to get 21
votes in the Senate for a plan - barely a majority.
Republican House
Speaker John Thrasher, who made lawsuit limits one of his top priorities this
year, said Tuesday evening there was not a final deal yet. But he was encouraged
enough to resume formal talks with the Senate.
Last week, when it
appeared business advocates did not have enough votes in the Senate to pass a
bill they liked, Thrasher dissolved the negotiating committee and directed full
attention toward Gov. Bush's education package.
But an agreement on
education was reached Monday, enabling Thrasher, Senate President Toni Jennings
and Bush to refocus on the civil court legislation.
LOAD-DATE: April 28, 1999
