Florida Statute 768.735 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLV
TORTS

Chapter 768
NEGLIGENCE

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768.735 Punitive damages; exceptions; limitation.—

(1) Sections 768.72(2)-(4), 768.725, and 768.73 do not apply to any civil action based upon child abuse, abuse of the elderly under chapter 415, or abuse of the developmentally disabled. Such actions are governed by applicable statutes and controlling judicial precedent. This section does not apply to claims brought pursuant to s. 400.023 or s. 429.29.

(2)(a) In any civil action based upon child abuse, abuse of the elderly under chapter 415, or abuse of the developmentally disabled, and involving the award of punitive damages, the judgment for the total amount of punitive damages awarded to a claimant may not exceed three times the amount of compensatory damages awarded to each person entitled thereto by the trier of fact, except as provided in paragraph (b). This subsection does not apply to any class action.

(b) If any award for punitive damages exceeds the limitation specified in paragraph (a), the award is presumed to be excessive and the defendant is entitled to remittitur of the amount in excess of the limitation unless the claimant demonstrates to the court by clear and convincing evidence that the award is not excessive in light of the facts and circumstances that were presented to the trier of fact.

(c) 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 which is less than three times the amount of compensatory damages.

(d) The jury may not be instructed or informed as to the provisions of this section.

(3) This section is remedial in nature and shall take effect upon becoming a law.

History.—s. 24, ch. 99-225; s. 11, ch. 2001-45; s. 107, ch. 2006-197.

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Amendments to 768.735

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 768.735

Total Results: 5

Estate of Despain v. Avante Group, Inc.

900 So. 2d 637, 2005 WL 672090

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 24, 2005 | Docket: 463202

Cited 37 times | Published

Florida Statutes, as created by this act, and section 768.735, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act,

Goodin v. Bank of America N.A.

114 F. Supp. 3d 1197, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81318, 2015 WL 3866872

District Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Jun 23, 2015 | Docket: 64302853

Cited 5 times | Published

coverage under ' § 768.72(2)-(4). Fla. Stat. § 768.735(1). . For a more fulsome discussion of these

Williams v. Tandem Health Care of Florida

899 So. 2d 369, 2005 WL 700953

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 29, 2005 | Docket: 1705716

Cited 5 times | Published

specifically made inapplicable to RRA claims by section 768.735(1), Florida Statutes (2000). The difficulty

In re Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Case—Report No. 12-01

130 So. 3d 596, 2013 WL 2349287

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 30, 2013 | Docket: 60237846

Cited 1 times | Published

PUNITIVE DAMAGES CHARGES Effective October 1, 1999, F.S. 768.735 changed the common law of punitive damages.

Brevard Achievement v. Camp

254 So. 3d 1135

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 27, 2018 | Docket: 7819900

Published

based on abuse of the developmentally disabled. § 768.735(1), Fla. Stat. (2018). Florida's developmental

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. Attorney Syfert regularly works with Chapter 768 in the context of negligence and personal injury claims and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.