Home > Legislative Tracker > Class Action Deform

Other Legislation:
Class Action Deform

Our Position: monitor
Bill Number: SB2304/HB7259
Sponsor: Senator Baker
Legislative Session: 2006

7/5/06: Approved by Governor; Chapter No. 2006-249 on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 9:03 AM

4/29/06: The Senate took up the House version and voted; sent it to the Governor

4/29/06: The House bill 7259 was in Senate messages and on 04/27/06 the SENATE Placed the Senate version SB2304 on Special Order Calendar -and Substituted HB 7259 -for SB2304, and voted on HB 7259 and this version will be sent to the Governor.  The environmental class action cases are safe another year. This Class Action legislation is narrowed to "Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices."

4/22/06: The bill was amended to reflect the same language as the House version. We will continue to make sure this bill doesn't change prior to sine die.

On Friday, 4/21, the House bill was placed on Special Order for the House floor and was passed on “second reading” without any negative amendments;    In the Senate, the same language was placed on the “Calendar” since there are no further committee references in the Senate, either. 

Now, the “actual damages” limitation in the bill which we oppose in environmental class action law suits, would only apply to class action lawsuits seeking statutory penalties under 4 specified regulatory processes.  So far, no amendments have been filed to resurrect the anti-environmental provisions of the original legislation. 

4/14/06: The Senate Bill should be amended on Weds. 4/19/06 to reflect the same language currently in the House bill. We are watching this closely to ensure the narrow statutes apply to only Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices.

3/06: We helped defeat this deform legislation last year. It weakens and in many cases eliminates court remedies for victims including environmental contamination.

The bill would harm environmental lawsuits, such as were characterized in the movie Erin Brockovich, in which our State's most vulnerable citizens are victims. 

These bills would eliminate one of the most effective devices that Floridians have to protect our unique environmental heritage from corporate pollution.

These bills would grant immunity to corporate polluters, allowing them to ignore environmental regulations that keep our air and waters clean and our environment safe and healthy.

Status

Click here to keep up with the legislative changes to SB2304

Action Needed

Following the meeting, we personally told Representative Simmons that we are relieved that he amended his bill so that folks who are fighting corporate polluters can continue to have the Class Action law as an avenue to justice.

It was there he and Represenative Planas committed that this amended version would be the House version. We need to make sure the Senate does the same.

Background

Eliminating Class Actions Immunizes Corporate Polluters

Florida boasts a unique and special environment that requires care and diligence to protect and preserve. PCB JU 06-07 and SB 2304 would eliminate one of the most effective devices that Floridians have to protect our unique environmental heritage from corporate pollution – class action lawsuits. “These bills would grant immunity to corporate polluters, allowing them to snub their noses at the environmental regulations that keep our air and waters clean and our environment safe and healthy,” stated Susie Caplowe, spokesperson, Florida Chapter Sierra Club.

“The class action is one of the few legal remedies the small

claimant has against those that command the status quo.”

 - Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Eisen v. Carlisle, 1974

Class actions have resulted in a cleaner environment, safer products, better warning labels, and the elimination of many deceptive business practices. Citizens who bring class actions  investigate and resolve wrongs that the government often has not the time, the resources, nor the will to pursue. This is especially true for environmental issues as corporate polluters often go to great lengths to hide the depths of their violations. Uncovering such practices can involve extensive and expensive discovery that no single claimant would be able to undertake individually.

There is no class action crisis in Florida. Florida’s courts are effective gatekeepers that already protect defendants from frivolous class actions. Florida’s trial and appellate courts routinely dismiss or refuse to treat as class actions many lawsuits seeking such status.

These bills would severely limit statutory and punitive damages, designed to deter illegal conduct, in class action cases. Many corporations care only for their bottom lines; the mere potential that they might be faced with paying punitive damages can serve an important societal deterrent for such entities. Often industries are unwilling to pay the additional costs of maintaining eco-friendly procedures, even if those procedures are mandated by law, unless they know there will be a higher cost if it is proven that they are acting illegally. There is no justifiable reason to reward defendants who injure or otherwise wrong a large group of people by capping their financial liability for reckless and sometimes deadly practices.  Class actions against the reckless companies also assure fair pricing for competitor businesses who are complying with the law.

As stewards of the environment, we have a duty to protect Florida’s unique and special natural treasures. These bills would insulate corporate polluters from being held accountable for the damage they do.

The following three groups released a similar press statement on April 12, 2005, in opposition to last years Class Action Deform legislation. The paragraphs above have been updated to address this year's version. 

Florida Chapter Sierra Club is a volunteer environmental organization with 34,000 members statewide. We advocate for environmental and public health protections.

Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation is a membership organization whose mission is to protect human health and the environment from pollution and also works to achieve accountability for the consequences of such pollution.

The Florida Consumer Action Network is a grassroots organization which empowers citizens to influence public policy by organizing and educating in areas where consumer voices are underrepresented.