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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to civil actions involving assisted 2
living facilities; amending s. 429.29, F.S.; providing 3
requirements for an exclusive cause of action for 4
residents' rights violations or negligence to be 5
brought against specified individuals; providing 6
immunity from liability for certain individuals; 7
providing definitions; prohibiting such action from 8
being asserted against certain individuals or entities 9
under certain circumstances; providing exceptions; 10
amending s. 429.297, F.S.; revising requirements for 11
recovery of certain damages and liability for such 12
damages; deleting obsolete language; providing 13
applicability; providing an effective date. 14
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
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Section 1. Subsections (2) through (7) of section 429.29, 18
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) through (9), 19
respectively, subsection (1) is amended, and new subsections (2) 20
and (3) are added to that section, to read: 21
429.29 Civil actions to enforce rights. — 22
(1) An exclusive cause of action for negligence or a 23
violation of a resident's Any person or resident whose rights as 24
specified under in this part which alleges direct or vicariou s 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
liability for the personal injury or death of an assisted living 26
resident arising from such negligence or violation of rights and 27
which seeks damages for such injury or death may be brought only 28
against the licensee, the licensee's management or consulti ng 29
company, the licensee's managing employees, and any direct 30
caregivers, whether employees or contractors. A passive investor 31
is not liable under this section. An action against any other 32
individual or entity may be brought only pursuant to subsection 33
(3) are violated shall have a cause of action . 34
(a) The action may be brought by the resident or his or 35
her guardian, or by a person or organization acting on behalf of 36
a resident with the consent of the resident or his or her 37
guardian, or by the personal re presentative of the estate of a 38
deceased resident regardless of the cause of death. 39
(b) If the action alleges a claim for the resident's 40
rights or for negligence that caused the death of the resident, 41
the claimant shall, after the verdict, but before the judgment 42
is entered, be required to elect either survival damages 43
pursuant to s. 46.021 or wrongful death damages pursuant to s. 44
768.21. If the action alleges a claim for the resident's rights 45
or for negligence that did not cause the death of the resident , 46
the personal representative of the estate may recover damages 47
for the negligence that caused injury to the resident. 48
(c) The action may be brought in any court of competent 49
jurisdiction to enforce such rights and to recover actual 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
damages, and punitive damages for the violation of the rights of 51
a resident or negligence. 52
(d) A Any resident who prevails in seeking injunctive 53
relief or a claim for an administrative remedy is entitled to 54
recover the costs of the action and a reasonable attorney fees 55
attorney's fee assessed against the defendant of up to not to 56
exceed $25,000. Fees shall be awarded solely for the injunctive 57
or administrative relief and not for any claim or action for 58
damages whether such claim or action is brought together with a 59
request for an injunction or administrative relief or as a 60
separate action, except as provided under s. 768.79 or the 61
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Sections 429.29-429.298 62
provide the exclusive remedy for a cause of action for recovery 63
of damages for the persona l injury or death of a resident 64
arising out of negligence or a violation of rights specified in 65
s. 429.28. 66
(e) This section does not preclude theories of recovery 67
not arising out of negligence or s. 429.28 which are available 68
to a resident or to the age ncy. The provisions of Chapter 766 69
does do not apply to any cause of action brought under ss. 70
429.29-429.298. 71
(2) As used in this section, the term: 72
(a) "Licensee" means an individual, corporation, 73
partnership, firm, association, governmental entity, o r other 74
entity that is issued a permit, registration, certificate, or 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
license by the agency, and that is legally responsible for all 76
aspects of the operation of the facility. 77
(b) "Management or consulting company" means an individual 78
or entity who contra cts with, or receives a fee from, a licensee 79
to provide any of the following services for a facility: 80
1. Hiring or firing of the administrator or director of 81
nursing; 82
2. Controlling or having control over the staffing levels 83
at the facility; 84
3. Having control over the budget of the facility; or 85
4. Implementing and enforcing the policies and procedures 86
of the facility. 87
(c) "Passive investor" means an individual or entity that 88
has an interest in a facility but does not participate in the 89
decisionmaking or operations of the facility. 90
(3) A cause of action may not be asserted against an 91
individual or entity other than the licensee, the licensee's 92
management or consulting company, the licensee's managing 93
employees, and any direct caregivers, whet her employees or 94
contractors, unless, after a motion for leave to amend hearing, 95
the court or an arbitration panel determines that there is 96
sufficient evidence in the record or proffered by the claimant 97
to establish a reasonable showing that: 98
(a) The individual or entity owed a duty of reasonable 99
care to the resident and that the individual or entity breached 100
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that duty; and 101
(b) The breach of that duty is a legal cause of loss, 102
injury, death, or damage to the resident. 103
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For purposes of this subsection, if, in a proposed amended 105
pleading, it is asserted that such cause of action arose out of 106
the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted 107
to be set forth in the original pleading, the proposed amendment 108
relates back to the original pleading. 109
Section 2. Section 429.297, Florida Statutes, is amended 110
to read: 111
429.297 Punitive damages; pleading; burden of proof. — 112
(1) A In any action for damages brought under this part, 113
no claim for punitive damages may not be brought under this part 114
shall be permitted unless there is a reasonable showing by 115
admissible evidence that has been submitted by the parties that 116
provides in the record or proffered by the claimant which would 117
provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such damages when the 118
criteria in this section are applied . 119
(a) The claimant may move to amend her or his complaint to 120
assert a claim for punitive damages as allowed by the rules of 121
civil procedure in accordance with evidentiary requirements set 122
forth in this section . 123
(b) The court shall conduct a hearing to determine whether 124
there is sufficient admissible evidence submitted by the parties 125
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to ensure that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the 126
claimant, at trial, will be able to demonstrate by clear and 127
convincing evidence th at the recovery of such damages is 128
warranted under a claim for direct liability as specified in 129
subsection (2) or under a claim for vicarious liability as 130
specified in subsection (3). 131
(c) The rules of civil procedure shall be liberally 132
construed so as to allow the claimant discovery of evidence 133
which appears reasonably calculated to lead to admissible 134
evidence on the issue of punitive damages. No Discovery of 135
financial worth may not shall proceed until after the pleading 136
on concerning punitive damages is approved by the court 137
permitted. 138
(2) A defendant may be held liable for punitive damages 139
only if the trier of fact, by based on clear and convincing 140
evidence, finds that a specific person or corporate defendant 141
actively and knowingly participated in inte ntional misconduct or 142
engaged in conduct that constitutes gross negligence and 143
contributed to the loss, damages, or injury suffered by the 144
claimant the defendant was personally guilty of intentional 145
misconduct or gross negligence . As used in this section, the 146
term: 147
(a) "Intentional misconduct" means that the defendant 148
against whom punitive damages are sought had actual knowledge of 149
the wrongfulness of the conduct and the high probability that 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
injury or damage to the claimant would result and, despite that 151
knowledge, intentionally pursued that course of conduct, 152
resulting in injury or damage. 153
(b) "Gross negligence" means that the defendant's conduct 154
was so reckless or wanting in care that it constituted a 155
conscious disregard or indifference to the life, s afety, or 156
rights of persons exposed to such conduct. 157
(3) In the case of vicarious liability of an individual, 158
employer, principal, corporation, or other legal entity, 159
punitive damages may not be imposed for the conduct of an 160
employee or agent unless only if the conduct of the employee or 161
agent meets the criteria specified in subsection (2) and an 162
officer, director, or manager of the actual employer, 163
corporation, or legal entity condoned, ratified, or consented to 164
the specific conduct as provided in subsec tion (2).: 165
(a) The employer, principal, corporation, or other legal 166
entity actively and knowingly participated in such conduct; 167
(b) The officers, directors, or managers of the employer, 168
principal, corporation, or other legal entity condoned, 169
ratified, or consented to such conduct; or 170
(c) The employer, principal, corporation, or other legal 171
entity engaged in conduct that constituted gross negligence and 172
that contributed to the loss, damages, or injury suffered by the 173
claimant. 174
(4) The plaintiff shall must establish at trial, by clear 175
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and convincing evidence, its entitlement to an award of punitive 176
damages. The "greater weight of the evidence" burden of proof 177
applies to a determination of the amount of damages. 178
(5) This section is remedial in nature and shall take 179
effect upon becoming a law. 180
Section 3. The amendments made by this act apply to causes 181
of action accruing on or after the effective date of this act. 182
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 183