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The 2025 Florida Statutes
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F.S. 542.22542.22 Suits for damages.—1(1) Any person who shall be injured in her or his business or property by reason of any violation of s. 542.18 or s. 542.19 may sue therefor in the circuit courts of this state and shall recover threefold the damages by her or him sustained, and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney fee. The court shall award a reasonable attorney fee to a defendant prevailing in any action under this part for damages or equitable relief in which the court finds there was a complete absence of a justiciable issue of either law or fact raised by the plaintiff. (2) The Attorney General, or a state attorney after receiving written permission from the Attorney General, may bring a civil action in the name of the state, as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in this state, to recover on behalf of those persons threefold the actual damages sustained by reason of any violation of s. 542.18 or s. 542.19, and the cost of such suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. The court shall exclude from the amount of monetary relief awarded in such action any amount of monetary relief which:(a) Duplicates amounts which have been awarded for the same injury; (b) Is properly allocable to natural persons who have excluded their claims pursuant to paragraph (3)(b); or (c) Is properly allocable to any business entity. (3) In any action under subsection (2):(a) The Attorney General or state attorney shall, at such time, in such manner, and with such content as the court may direct, cause notice to be given to the proposed class by publication. If the court finds that notice given solely by publication would deny due process of law to any person or persons, the court shall direct further notice to such person or persons according to the circumstances of the case. (b) Any person on whose behalf an action is brought under subsection (2) may elect to exclude from adjudication the portion of the claim for monetary relief attributable to her or him by filing notice of such election with the court within such time as specified in the notice given pursuant to paragraph (a). The final judgment in such action shall be res judicata as to any claim under this section by any person on behalf of whom such action was brought and who fails to give such notice within the period specified in the notice given pursuant to paragraph (a). (c) No dismissal or compromise shall be entered without the approval of the court, and notice, if any, of the proposed dismissal or compromise shall be given in such manner as the court directs. (d) Monetary relief shall be distributed in such manner as the court in its discretion may authorize, subject to the requirement that any distribution procedure adopted shall afford each person a reasonable opportunity to secure her or his appropriate portion of the net monetary relief. (e) In any action under subsection (2) in which there has been a determination that a defendant agreed to fix prices in violation of s. 542.18, damages may be proved and assessed in the aggregate by statistical or sampling methods, by the computation of illegal overcharges, or by such other reasonable system of estimating aggregate damages as the court in its discretion may permit without the necessity of separately proving the individual claims of, or amounts of damage to, persons on whose behalf the suit was brought. History.—s. 1, ch. 80-28; s. 753, ch. 97-103; s. 7, ch. 2025-213. 1Note.—Amended by s. 7, ch. 2025-213, effective July 1, 2025, per s. 22, ch. 2025-213. Chapter 2025-213 became law without the Governor’s signature on July 3, 2025, per s. 8(a), Art. III of the State Constitution. In Re Advisory Opinion to the Governor Request of June 29, 1979, 374 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 1979), specifies the constitutional effective date in s. 9, Art. III of the State Constitution in this situation. The constitutional effective date is August 15, 2025, for ch. 2025-213.
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Annotations, Discussions, Cases:
Cases Citing Statute 542.22
Total Results: 13
951 So. 2d 966
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 14, 2007 | Docket: 1682596
Cited 18 times | Published
Broward Humane points to Florida's Anti-Trust Act section 542.22(1), Florida Statutes (2003), to support its
432 F. Supp. 2d 1283, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32581, 2006 WL 1359939
District Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Mar 17, 2006 | Docket: 2286407
Cited 9 times | Published
Fees Under the Florida Antitrust Act
FLA. STAT. § 542.22 provides that a defendant in an action under the
669 So. 2d 321
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 13, 1996 | Docket: 1526191
Cited 3 times | Published
which the trial court trebled pursuant to section 542.22, Florida Statutes (1989). From the final judgment
149 F.R.D. 666, 1993 WL 263426
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: May 27, 1993 | Docket: 66309068
Cited 2 times | Published
grounded on 15 U.S.C. § 15c and Fla.Stat.Ann. § 542.22. Both statutes empower a state attorney general
695 F. Supp. 552, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10662, 1988 WL 99110
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Feb 29, 1988 | Docket: 2175176
Cited 2 times | Published
including a reasonable attorney's fee.
Fla.Stat. § 542.22(1). The language of that section closely tracks
508 So. 2d 26, 1987 WL 1364489
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 5, 1987 | Docket: 1648796
Cited 2 times | Published
court awarded treble damages as provided in section 542.22(1), Florida Statutes (1983), resulting in an
165 So. 3d 824, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 8470, 2015 WL 3480289
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 3, 2015 | Docket: 60248243
Cited 1 times | Published
provisions. The motion also sought fees based on section 542.22, Florida Statutes (2013), ■ a statute permitting
597 F. Supp. 2d 1299, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108305, 2008 WL 5597653
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Jun 25, 2008 | Docket: 2319540
Cited 1 times | Published
provisions of the Florida Antitrust Act, Fla. Stat. § 542.22).
Finding this case failed to raise a justiciable
211 So. 3d 210, 2017 WL 33670, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 46
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 4, 2017 | Docket: 60262556
Published
Statutes (2013). They also requested fees based on section 542.22, Florida Statutes (2013). The corporate defendant
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 3, 2015 | Docket: 2679283
Published
provisions. The
motion also sought fees based on section 542.22, Florida Statutes (2013),
a statute permitting
530 So. 2d 1037, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2034, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 3955, 1988 WL 91212
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 1, 1988 | Docket: 64636926
Published
$1,500,000 against Fina, which pursuant to Section 542.22(1), Florida Statutes, were trebled to $4,500
116 F.R.D. 236, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3309
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Apr 9, 1987 | Docket: 66298283
Published
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Section 542.22(1) of the Florida Statutes since a reasonable
108 F.R.D. 371, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13571
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Nov 22, 1985 | Docket: 66294086
Published
defendants request attorney’s fees pursuant to section 542.22(1) of the Florida Statutes which provides that
