Florida Statute 768.042 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLV
TORTS

Chapter 768
NEGLIGENCE

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768.042 Damages.—In any action brought in the circuit court to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death, the amount of general damages shall not be stated in the complaint, but the amount of special damages, if any, may be specifically pleaded and the requisite jurisdictional amount established for filing in any court of competent jurisdiction.

History.—ss. 8, 9, ch. 75-9; s. 161, ch. 2020-2.

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Amendments to 768.042

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 768.042

Total Results: 3 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Est. of Shearer v. Agency for Health Care, 737 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1999 WL 550508

...In Bell, the statement of claim was challenged by the personal representative because it did not set out the amount claimed in the wrongful death action. A claim for wrongful death damages is, by its very nature, unliquidated. In fact, a plaintiff in a wrongful death suit is prohibited by section 768.042 from stating in the complaint the amount of general damages sought....

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Bell v. Harris, 381 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1980).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1980 Fla. App. LEXIS 16328

...833, 837 (Fla.1938). This Statement of Claim adequately puts appellant on notice as to the basis of the claim. Neither § 733.703, F.S. (1977) nor Fla.R.P. & G.P. 5.490 requires appellant to put a dollar figure in an unliquidated claim for wrongful death. Cf. § 768.042, F.S....

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In Re: Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Small Claims Rules, & Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure – Jurisdiction (Fla. 2020).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida

...to make that data available to those studying residential evictions. The remainder of comments primarily contend that (1) new section II (Amount of Claim) of the form, which asks for the estimated dollar amount of the claim, is inconsistent with section 768.042(1), Florida Statutes (2019), which prohibits the amount of general damages sought from being stated in a complaint in a personal injury or wrongful death action, and (2) the specific estimated dollar claim amount provided in the co...