In
a big victory for Florida employers, the
First District Court of Appeal issued its long-awaited
decision today overturning Circuit Court Judge Nikki Ann
Clark’s ruling that the Tort Reform Act of 1999 was
unconstitutional. The 1999 law was designed to shield Florida's employers
from frivolous and excessive lawsuits and damage awards.
The
plaintiffs had contended that the parties represented by the
group were harmed by the 1999 law, an allegation the appeals
judges found “hypothetical,” “abstract,” and
insufficient to merit standing as a plaintiff in the case.
The First DCA remanded the case back to Judge Clark and
advised dismissal of the lawsuit.
Led
by Consumer Action Network, which is little more than a
trial-bar front group, the plaintiffs are expected to appeal
the ruling to the Florida Supreme Court, which may or may
not choose to hear the case.The Florida Supreme Court is typically resistant to
overruling or even considering a First DCA ruling and this
particular First DCA ruling is a well-crafted and strongly
worded decision.
The
appellate review stems from Judge Clark’s decision in
February 2001 that struck down the tort-reform law on highly
technical grounds. Under the Florida Constitution each law
enacted by the Legislature must be limited to a single
subject. Judge Clark declared the 1999 law in violation of
that constitutional requirement, despite three Florida
Supreme Court rulings in the past 20 years holding that tort
reform constitutes a single subject.
The
defendants, which included
Associated Industries of Florida, immediately appealed her
decision to the First District, which promptly asked the
state Supreme Court to take on the case. In April the
Supreme Court declined early review of the Clark decision in a
unanimous decision and bounced it back to the First
District.
Court
victories for the business community are few and far
between.This
ruling by the First DCA is a positive step in our efforts to
protect the much needed and historic reforms of 1999.We will keep you advised as the legal maneuverings
continue.
