FL
Florida House Bill H6017

Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H6017 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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1412 A bill to be entitled 1
1513 An act for the relief of Marcus Button by the Pasco 2
1614 County School Board; providing an appropriation to 3
1715 compensate Marcus Button for harms and losses he 4
18-sustained as a result of the negligence of an employee 5
19-of the Pasco County School Board; providing an 6
20-appropriation to repay Mark Button, now deceased, and 7
21-Robin Button, as the surviving parent and natural 8
22-guardian of Marcus Button, for harms and losses they 9
23-sustained as a result of the injury to their child, 10
24-Marcus Button; providing a limitation on the payment 11
25-of compensation and attorney fees; providing an 12
26-effective date. 13
27- 14
28- WHEREAS, on the morning of September 22, 2006, Jessica 15
29-Juettner picked up 16 -year-old Marcus Button at his home in 16
30-order to drive him to Wesley Chapel High School, where both were 17
31-students, and 18
32- WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner drove to school west on State Road 19
33-54, Pasco County, Florida, Marcus Button realized he had left 20
34-his wallet at home, and Ms . Juettner turned her Dodge Neon 21
35-subcompact car around and headed back to his home, and 22
36- WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner's car approached Meadow Pointe 23
37-Boulevard, John E. Kinne, an employee of the Pasco County School 24
38-Board, acting within the course and scope of h is employment, was 25
16+sustained as a result of the negligence of two 5
17+employees of the Pasco County School Board; providing 6
18+an appropriation to repay Mark Button and Robin 7
19+Button, as parents and natural guardians of Marcus 8
20+Button, for harms and losses they sustained as a 9
21+result of the injury to their child, Marcus Button; 10
22+providing a limitation on the payment of compensation 11
23+and attorney fees; providing an effective date. 12
24+ 13
25+ WHEREAS, on the morning of September 22, 2006, Jessica 14
26+Juettner picked up 16 -year-old Marcus Button at his home in 15
27+order to drive him to Wesley Chapel High School, where both were 16
28+students, and 17
29+ WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner drove to school west on State Road 18
30+54, Pasco County, Florida, Marcus Button realized he had left 19
31+his wallet at home, and Ms. Juettner turne d her Dodge Neon 20
32+subcompact car around and headed back to his home, and 21
33+ WHEREAS, as Ms. Juettner's car approached Meadow Pointe 22
34+Boulevard, John E. Kinne, an employee of Pasco County School 23
35+Board who was driving a 35 -foot school bus owned by the Pasco 24
36+County School Board, pulled out in front of her, and 25
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4745 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
4846
47+ WHEREAS, although Ms. Juettner slammed on the brakes, her 26
48+car's left front struck the bus between the wheels and continued 27
49+under the bus which crushed the car's right front and roof, and 28
50+ WHEREAS, while Ms. Juettner suffered a knee and other minor 29
51+injuries, Marcus Button, who was riding in the front passenger 30
52+seat, sustained facial and skull fractures, brain damage, and 31
53+bleeding and vision loss, and 32
54+ WHEREAS, Mr. Kinne and his "relief" driver, Linda Bone, 33
55+were the only people on the bus and were not seriously injured, 34
56+and 35
57+ WHEREAS, Marcus Button was airlifted to St. Joseph's 36
58+Children's Hospital, where he spent three (3) weeks recovering, 37
59+and then was transferred to Tampa General Hospital for 38
60+rehabilitation for an additional six (6) weeks, and 39
61+ WHEREAS, Marcus Button sustained severe, widespread 40
62+neurologic systems damage, had to relearn how to walk and 41
63+currently cannot walk for any substantial length of time without 42
64+pain, lost the use of his right eye, cannot l ook up or down with 43
65+his left eye, and suffered facial fractures that twisted and 44
66+left his face badly disfigured with one side of his face higher 45
67+than the other, and 46
68+ WHEREAS, in addition, Marcus Button can no longer smell, 47
69+has limited ability to taste, can not feel textures, and, as a 48
70+result of the brain damage from the crash, has severe 49
71+hallucinations unless he takes psychotropic medications daily, 50 
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51-driving a 35-foot school bus owned by the Pasco County School 26
52-Board, and pulled out in front of her, and 27
53- WHEREAS, although Ms. Juettner slammed on the brakes, her 28
54-car's left front struck the bus between the wheels and continued 29
55-under the bus which crushed the car's left front and roof, and 30
56- WHEREAS, while Ms. Juettner suffered a knee and other minor 31
57-injuries, Marcus Button, who was riding in the front passenger 32
58-seat, sustained facial and skull fractures, brain damage, and 33
59-bleeding and vision loss, and 34
60- WHEREAS, Mr. Kinne and his "relief" driver, Linda Bone, 35
61-were the only people on the bus and were not seriously injured, 36
62-and 37
63- WHEREAS, Marcus Button was airlifted to St. Joseph's 38
64-Children's Hospital, where he spent three (3) weeks recovering , 39
65-and then was transferred to Tampa General Hospital for 40
66-rehabilitation for an additional six (6) weeks, and 41
67- WHEREAS, Marcus Button sustained severe, widespread 42
68-neurologic systems damage, had to relearn how to walk and 43
69-currently cannot walk for any substa ntial length of time without 44
70-pain, lost the use of his right eye, cannot look up or down with 45
71-his left eye, and suffered facial fractures that twisted and 46
72-left his face badly disfigured with one side of his face higher 47
73-than the other, and 48
74- WHEREAS, as the operator of a school bus, Mr. Kinne had the 49
75-duty to drive the bus in a safe manner and in accordance with 50
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8480 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
8581
82+and he sees and hears things that are not there, has spoken with 51
83+a British or a Southern accent, has no short -term memory, has no 52
84+ability of judgment for his safety, and is paranoid, and 53
85+ WHEREAS, Marcus Button returned from the hospital in 54
86+November 2006, but his mother, Robin Button, testified, "My son 55
87+who woke up [in the hospital] was not the same son I gave bir th 56
88+to. He was, but he wasn't. It was him, his skin, but it wasn't 57
89+him in his skin. Different kid. The son I knew is gone. He died 58
90+on that day," and 59
91+ WHEREAS, as the operator of a school bus, Mr. Kinne had the 60
92+duty to drive the bus in a safe manner and in accordance with 61
93+Florida law, but failed to do so, and the "relief" driver had a 62
94+job duty to help Mr. Kinne, but failed to do so, and 63
95+ WHEREAS, Mr. Kinne was later cited by the Florida Highway 64
96+Patrol trooper for failing to yield the right -of-way to Ms. 65
97+Juettner's car, and 66
98+ WHEREAS, in 2007, Marcus Button's parents, Mark Button and 67
99+Robin Button, sued the Pasco County School Board for the harms 68
100+and losses caused by its negligence, and, during the subsequent 69
101+trial, a pediatric rehabilitation doctor and a neuropsychologist 70
102+testified unopposed that, because of the crash injuries, Marcus 71
103+Button will require 24 -hour care, counseling, interventions, 72
104+medical care, and medications for the remainder of his life to 73
105+cope with his physical symptoms and to control his psychotic and 74
106+delusional behavior from the crash injuries, and that Marcus 75 
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88-Florida law, but he failed to do so, and 51
89- WHEREAS, in 2007, Marcus Button's parents, Mark Button and 52
90-Robin Button, sued the Pasco County School Board for the harms 53
91-and losses caused by the negligence of its employee, and 54
92- WHEREAS, during the subsequent trial, a pediatric 55
93-rehabilitation doctor and a neuropsychologist testified 56
94-unopposed that, because of the crash injuries, Marcus Button 57
95-will require 24-hour care, counseling, interventions, medical 58
96-care, and medications for the remainder of his life to cope with 59
97-his physical symptoms and to control his psychotic and 60
98-delusional behavior from the crash injuries, and that Marcus 61
99-Button continues to suffer cra sh-related memory loss, has 62
100-trouble sleeping, and struggles to concentrate and stay on task, 63
101-and 64
102- WHEREAS, an expert economist who testified unopposed at 65
103-trial estimated Marcus Button's future care will cost between 66
104-$6,000,000.00 and $10,000,000.00 and his inability to work will 67
105-result in the loss of between $365,000.00 and $570,000.00 in 68
106-wages over his lifetime, and 69
107- WHEREAS, the trial court ordered the Pasco County School 70
108-Board to pay final judgments of $1,380,967.39 to Marcus Button 71
109-and $289,396.85 to Ma rk Button, now deceased, and Robin Button, 72
110-and 73
111- WHEREAS, the Pasco County School Board has paid $163,000 of 74
112-the $200,000 statutory limit applicable at the time the claim 75
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121115 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
122116
117+Button continues to suffer crash -related memory loss, has 76
118+trouble sleeping, and struggles to concentrate and stay on task, 77
119+and 78
120+ WHEREAS, an expert economist who testified unopposed at 79
121+trial estimated Marcus Button's future care will cost between 80
122+$6,000,000.00 and $10,000,000.00 and his inability to work will 81
123+result in the loss of between $365,000.00 and $570,000.00 in 82
124+wages over his lifetime, and 83
125+ WHEREAS, the trial court ordered the Pasco County School 84
126+Board to pay final judgments of $1,380,967.39 to Marcus Button 85
127+and $289,396.85 to Mark Button and Robin Button, and 86
128+ WHEREAS, the Pasco County School Board has paid $163,000 of 87
129+the $200,000 statutory limit applicable at the time the claim 88
130+arose pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, to Marcus 89
131+Button and to Mark Button and Robin Button, as parents and 90
132+natural guardians of Marcus Button, as partial compensation for 91
133+the harms and losses cause d by the crash, and 92
134+ WHEREAS, the pro rata share of the statutory limit pursuant 93
135+to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, paid to Marcus Button is 94
136+$134,752.10, but the balance of $1,246,215.29 remains unpaid, 95
137+and 96
138+ WHEREAS, the pro rata share of the statutory limit pursuant 97
139+to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, paid to Mark Button and Robin 98
140+Button is $28,247.90, but the balance of $261,148.95 remains 99
141+unpaid, and 100 
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125-arose pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, to Marcus 76
126-Button and to Mark Button, now deceased, and Robin Button, as 77
127-the surviving parent and natural guardian of Marcus Button, as 78
128-partial compensation for the harms and losses caused by the 79
129-crash, and 80
130- WHEREAS, since the judgments were entered, the Pasco County 81
131-School Board did not appeal these judgments, and the parties 82
132-have agreed to a total settlement in the amount of $1,200,00.00 83
133-to forever and completely relieve the Pasco County School Board 84
134-of any and all further responsibility regarding the crash that 85
135-occurred on September 22, 2006, NOW, THEREFORE, 86
136- 87
137-Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 88
138- 89
139- Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act 90
140-are found and declared to be true. 91
141- Section 2. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 92
142-directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not 93
143-otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of 94
144-$1,000,000.00 made payable to a trust for the sole and exclusive 95
145-benefit of Marcus Button as compensation for harms and losses he 96
146-sustained due to the negligence of an employee of the Pasco 97
147-County School Board. 98
148- Section 3. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 99
149-directed to appropriate from funds of the school board 100
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158150 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
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152+ WHEREAS, since the judgments were entered, the Pasco County 101
153+School Board did not appeal these judgments, has op posed bills 102
154+ordering payment of any amounts ordered by the judge, has 103
155+refused to negotiate or participate in any discussions until the 104
156+2024 Regular Session, and has not taken steps to pay any part of 105
157+these 13-year-old judgments entered by the judge after a full 106
158+trial, NOW, THEREFORE, 107
159+ 108
160+Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 109
161+ 110
162+ Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this act 111
163+are found and declared to be true. 112
164+ Section 2. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 113
165+directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not 114
166+otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of 115
167+$1,246,215.29 made payable to Marcus Button as compensation for 116
168+harms and losses he sustained due to the negligence of employees 117
169+of the Pasco County School Board. 118
170+ Section 3. The Pasco County School Board is authorized and 119
171+directed to appropriate from funds of the school board not 120
172+otherwise encumbered and to draw a warrant in the sum of 121
173+$261,148.95 made payable to Mark Button and Robin Button, as 122
174+parents and natural guardians of Marcus Button, as compensation 123
175+for harms and losses sustained by them for injuries to Marcus 124
176+Button in the September 22, 2006, crash which was due to the 125 
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162-$200,000.00 made payable to Robin Button, as the surviving 101
163-parent and natural guardian of Marcus Button, as compensation 102
164-for harms and losses sustained by her and Mark Button, now 103
165-deceased, for injuries to Marcus Button due to the negligence of 104
166-an employee of the Pasco County School Board. 105
167- Section 4. The amount paid by the Pasc o County School 106
168-Board pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, and the 107
169-amounts awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole 108
170-compensation for all past, present, and future claims arising 109
171-out of the crash that occurred on September 22, 2006, and the 110
172-factual situation described in this act which resulted in 111
173-injuries sustained by Marcus Button and his parents, Mark 112
174-Button, now deceased, and Robin Button. The total amount paid 113
175-for attorney fees may not exceed 25 percent of the total amounts 114
176-awarded under this act. 115
177- Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 116
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185+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
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187+negligence of employees of the Pasco County School Board. 126
188+ Section 4. The amount paid by the Pasco County School 127
189+Board pursuant to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes 2009, and the 128
190+amounts awarded under this act are intended to provide the sole 129
191+compensation for all present and future claims arising out of 130
192+the factual situation d escribed in this act which resulted in 131
193+injuries sustained by Marcus Button and his parents, Mark Button 132
194+and Robin Button. The total amount paid for attorney fees may 133
195+not exceed 25 percent of the total amounts awarded under this 134
196+act. 135
197+ Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 136