Florida Statute 768.73 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XLV
TORTS

Chapter 768
NEGLIGENCE

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F.S. 768.73

768.73 Punitive damages; limitation.—

(1)(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), an award of punitive damages may not exceed the greater of:

1. Three times the amount of compensatory damages awarded to each claimant entitled thereto, consistent with the remaining provisions of this section; or

2. The sum of $500,000.

(b) Where the fact finder determines that the wrongful conduct proven under this section was motivated solely by unreasonable financial gain and determines that the unreasonably dangerous nature of the conduct, together with the high likelihood of injury resulting from the conduct, was actually known by the managing agent, director, officer, or other person responsible for making policy decisions on behalf of the defendant, it may award an amount of punitive damages not to exceed the greater of:

1. Four times the amount of compensatory damages awarded to each claimant entitled thereto, consistent with the remaining provisions of this section; or

2. The sum of $2 million.

(c) Where the fact finder determines that at the time of injury the defendant had a specific intent to harm the claimant and determines that the defendant’s conduct did in fact harm the claimant, there shall be no cap on punitive damages.

(d) This subsection is not intended to prohibit an appropriate court from exercising its jurisdiction under s. 768.74 in determining the reasonableness of an award of punitive damages that is less than three times the amount of compensatory damages.

(2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), punitive damages may not be awarded against a defendant in a civil action if that defendant establishes, before trial, that punitive damages have previously been awarded against that defendant in any state or federal court in any action alleging harm from the same act or single course of conduct for which the claimant seeks compensatory damages. For purposes of a civil action, the term “the same act or single course of conduct” includes acts resulting in the same manufacturing defects, acts resulting in the same defects in design, or failure to warn of the same hazards, with respect to similar units of a product.

(b) In subsequent civil actions involving the same act or single course of conduct for which punitive damages have already been awarded, if the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that the amount of prior punitive damages awarded was insufficient to punish that defendant’s behavior, the court may permit a jury to consider an award of subsequent punitive damages. In permitting a jury to consider awarding subsequent punitive damages, the court shall make specific findings of fact in the record to support its conclusion. In addition, the court may consider whether the defendant’s act or course of conduct has ceased. Any subsequent punitive damage awards must be reduced by the amount of any earlier punitive damage awards rendered in state or federal court.

(3) The claimant attorney’s fees, if payable from the judgment, are, to the extent that the fees are based on the punitive damages, calculated based on the final judgment for punitive damages. This subsection does not limit the payment of attorney’s fees based upon an award of damages other than punitive damages.

(4) The jury may neither be instructed nor informed as to the provisions of this section.

(5) The provisions of this section shall be applied to all causes of action arising after the effective date of this act.

History.—ss. 52, 65, ch. 86-160; s. 1, ch. 87-42; s. 5, ch. 87-50; s. 1, ch. 88-335; s. 71, ch. 91-282; ss. 2, 3, ch. 92-85; s. 16, ch. 97-94; s. 23, ch. 99-225.

F.S. 768.73 on Google Scholar

F.S. 768.73 on Casetext

Amendments to 768.73

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 768.73

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 768.73.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 768.73

Total Results: 20

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Lourdes , Jones, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Yolanda Alvarez

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-06-05T00:00:00-07:00

Snippet: punitive damages. Defendants contend that section 768.73(2), 1 Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So. … Whether the caps and limitations in section 768.73 apply to limit an award of punitive damages is …damage awards rendered in state or federal court. § 768.73(2), Fla. Stat. (2022). The trial court did…. 3d 24, 33–34 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023). Section 768.73’s caps and limitations on punitive damage awards…make factual determinations as to whether section 768.73(2) permits an additional award of punitive damages

Stefanny Sommers, etc. v. Philip Morris USA Inc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2024-03-06T00:00:00-08:00

Snippet: . § 768.73, Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). The initial question in applying section 768.73(2), as… section 768.73(2)(a) unless Sommers could establish that the exception under section 768.73(2)(b) applied…applying the current version of section 768.73, held that section 768.73(2)(a) barred a punitive damages award… concluded that the current version of section 768.73(2), Florida Statutes, applied to Sommers’ wrongful…need to be continued to determine whether section 768.73(2), Florida Statutes, barred the punitive damages

Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Odaima Garcia, etc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2023-11-15T00:00:00-08:00

Snippet: Defendant's Renewed Motion Invoking Section 768.73(2), Florida Statutes; and Motion for Directed

Brinda Coates, etc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 2023-01-04T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: the first statute, section 768.73, has been substantially amended. See § 768.73, Fla. Stat. (2021). The …circumstances” exception of section 768.73(1)(b) applies, section 768.73(1)(a) caps an award of punitive …rephased question implicates two statutes, sections 768.73 and 768.74, Florida Statutes (1997), that govern…of Legal Texts 56 (2012)). First, section 768.73, Florida Statutes (1997), addresses Florida’s …times the amount of compensatory damages. § 768.73(1)(a)-(c). Second, section 768.74, Florida

PHILIP MORRIS USA INC. and R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. BRYAN RINTOUL, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Edward Caprio

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-05-11T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: Damages In 1999, the Legislature amended section 768.73 to prohibit punitive damage awards against a defendant…which the claimant seeks compensatory damages.” § 768.73(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (1999). The single course of …damage awards rendered in state or federal court. § 768.73(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (1999). Although the law stated…in holding “that the pre-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, applies in an Engle progeny …trial court invoking the amended version of section 768.73(2) and alleging that each had paid millions of

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY and PHILIP MORRIS USA, INC. v. MYRON KAPLAN, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Sheila Kaplan

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-03-16T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: argument that punitive damages were barred by section 768.73, Florida Statutes, based on our previous decision… concluded that the pre-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, applies in an Engle 1 progeny…Konzelman and held that the 1999 amendments to section 768.73 apply to Engle progeny wrongful death actions in…for application of the amended version of section 768.73 in determining the punitive damage award as required

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. SANDRA L. MATTSON, as personal representative of the estate of Eleanor Konzelman

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2022-03-16T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: concluded that the pre-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, applies in an Engle progeny … court held that the 1999 amendments to section 768.73 apply to Engle progeny wrongful death actions in…for application of the amended version of section 768.73 in determining the punitive damage award as required

Mary E. Sheffield, etc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 2021-11-17T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: tort reform act, the Legislature amended section 768.73, Florida Statutes, to among other things presumptively…added the following underlined language to section 768.73: (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph… “the same act or single course of conduct.” § 768.73(2), Fla. Stat. …should have applied “the 1999 version of section 768.73.” Id. And because the 1999 amendments potentially…presented is whether the 1999 amendments to section 768.73 apply to Engle progeny wrongful death actions in

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY and PHILIP MORRIS USA, INC. v. MYRON KAPLAN, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Sheila Kaplan

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2021-06-23T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: claim that punitive damages are barred by section 768.73(2)(a), Florida Statutes, based on R.J. Reynolds

JOYCE HARDIN, etc. v. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2020-12-15T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: verdict pursuant to the post-1999 version of section 768.73(2), Florida Statutes. Because we affirm the main

VITAL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. v. CHERYL OHEL

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2020-10-14T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: punitive damages. The provisions of ss. 768.72 and 768.73 do not apply to this section. The judgment

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. LESLIE SCHLEFSTEIN, as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF DAWN SCHLEFSTEIN

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-08-28T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: that they never invoked the provisions of section 768.73(2), Florida Statutes (2018) in the lower court.

THE EVENT DEPOT CORP. v. ROBERT FRANK

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-04-24T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: legislature also made substantive revisions to section 768.73, Florida 4 The Florida State University College

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Sheffield

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-02-08T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 266 So. 3d 1230

Snippet: damages statute is the 1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, which was in effect when the…should be governed by the current version of section 768.73, which became law on October 1, 1999, but the trial…the same act or single course of conduct." § 768.73(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (1999). Given the numerous prior…2016). Express statutory language controls Section 768.73(5), Florida Statutes (1999), states: "The …in holding that the pre-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, applies in an Engle progeny

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Sheffield

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2019-02-08T00:00:00-08:00

Citation: 266 So. 3d 1230

PHILIP MORRIS USA INC. and R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. STANLEY MARTIN, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF CAROLE MARTIN

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2018-12-11T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: compensatory damages.” § 768.73(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (1999). The amended version of section 768.73 applies “to all…amendment to section 768.73, we find that the post-1999 version of section 768.73 applies to this case…current version of section 768.73 to this case, we find that section 768.73(2)(a) bars a punitive damages…declining to apply the post-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, which bars successive awards…sought to invoke the current version of section 768.73(2)(a), Florida Statutes, which generally bars successive

PHILIP MORRIS USA INC. and R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. STANLEY MARTIN, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF CAROLE MARTIN

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2018-12-11T23:53:00-08:00

R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. ALAN KONZELMAN, etc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2018-05-09T00:53:00-07:00

Snippet: in holding that the pre-1999 version of section 768.73, Florida Statutes, applies in an Engle progeny

Joan Schoeff, etc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Court: Fla. | Date Filed: 2017-12-13T23:53:00-08:00

Snippet: three times the compensatory award. See, e.g., § 768.73(1)(a)1., Fla. Stat. (2011). The unreduced compensatory

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Andy R. Allen Sr., as Personal Rep. etc.

Court: Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Date Filed: 2017-10-18T00:00:00-07:00

Citation: 228 So. 3d 684

Snippet: punitive.damages. Chapter 99-225, section 23, amended section 768.73, Florida Statutes, to impose a stricter cap on ….2d 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)); §§ 768.72(4) & 768.73(5), Fla. Stat. In many wrongful death actions,