Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...orida Statutes, were substantially amended in 2001. Specifically, the Legislature stated: Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the contrary, sections 400.0237, 400.0238, 400.4297, 400.4298, Florida Statutes, as created by this act, and section 768.735, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, shall become effective May 15, 2001; shall apply to causes of action accruing on or after May 15, 2001; and shall be applied retroactively to causes of action accruing before May 15, 2001, for which no case has been filed prior to October 5, 2001....

...Because the cause of action in the instant case accrued prior to enactment of the 1999 Tort Reform Act, we will apply the previous version of section 768.72. However, we cite to subsection (1) of section 768.72 because that is the version that appears in the bound volume of the 1999 Florida Statutes. We also note that section 768.735, Florida Statutes (1999), enacted as part of the 1999 Tort Reform Act, provides that the provisions of section 768.72(2)-(4), 768.725, and 768.73 do not apply in civil actions arising under chapter 400, Florida Statutes. § 768.735(1), Fla. Stat. (1999). Although section 768.735 is not applicable to the instant action either, we note with interest that even under its provisions, the requirements of subsection (1) of the amended version of section 768.72 do apply to claims for punitive damages under chapter 400 because they are not excluded by section 768.735....

...the employee's conduct, and the court concluded the evidence did not support such finding. The estate contends the court's legal conclusion was incorrect because the provisions of section 768.72(3) are specifically made inapplicable to RRA claims by section 768.735(1), Florida Statutes (2000)....

...Indeed, the punitive damages provisions are plainly applicable to other causes of action arising outside of the "Torts” title be *1215 cause Fla. Stat. § 400.023 , in the "Public Health” title of the Florida code, required an express exemption from coverage under ' § 768.72(2)-(4). Fla. Stat. § 768.735 (1)....

...ndants], you should assess (claimant’s) *621 damages in a single amount against [both defendants] [the defendants whom you find to be liable to (claimant) ]. B. PUNITIVE DAMAGES NOTE ON USE FOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES CHARGES Effective October 1, 1999, F.S. 768.735 changed the common law of punitive damages....

...drugs or alcohol. See F.S. 768.736 (1999). Likewise, these instructions may not be applicable in cases involving child abuse, abuse of the elderly, or abuse of the developmentally disabled, or any civil action arising under F.S., Chapter 400. See F.S. 768.735 (1999)....

...Estate of Gonzales, 795 So. 2d 1133, 1134 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)). "[A]pplicable statutes and controlling judicial precedent" govern the legal standard with which to assess a claim for punitive damages based on abuse of the developmentally disabled. § 768.735(1), Fla....

...Moreover, in the context of vicarious liability, the employer may only be liable for punitive damages "if [it] condoned, ratified, or consented to the specific conduct." Id. § 400.0237(3). 3 to harm that cannot be remedied in a later plenary appeal. 2 See § 768.735, Fla....