The Florida Justice Reform Institute was created by the Florida Chamber of Commerce in 2005 and its mission is to fight wasteful civil litigation through legislation, promote fair and equitable legal practices and provide information about the state of civil justice in Florida. To facilitate these goals, the Institute employs research and advocacy in support of meaningful tort reform legislation.
Since its inception in 2005, the Florida Justice Reform Institute (FJRI) has helped pass pro-civil justice reform legislation and defeat legislation that disrupts the balance of our civil justice system. We are proud of our successes and invite you to join us in our mission of restoring accountability and predictability to Florida’s civil justice system.
Legislative Achievements
In 2009 session FJRI achieved several critical successes, including the passage of workers' compensation reform.Workers' compensation reform was FJRI's priority bill (House Bill 903). The entire business community was united in support of the passage of this fine bill, which restores critical reforms passed during in 2003 that were undone by the recent Florida Supreme Court ruling, Murray v. Mariners Health.
The action taken by the Legislature in approving HB 903 clarifies the limit on excessive attorneys' fees and ensures the well-being of millions of hardworking Floridians, businesses, and the state's overall economy.
We look forward to continuing to advance the business community's civil justice reform agenda in the coming year and developing research to support our 2010 agenda.
In 2008, FJRI identified several legislative priorities that built on past civil justice reforms, like the abolishment of joint and several liability, and continue the Institute’s mission of enacting common sense civil justice reforms that restore order in Florida’s courts.
During the 2008 legislative session FJRI defended civil justice in Florida on behalf of Florida’s business community by blocking several initiatives being pushed by the Florida Plaintiffs’ Bar that would undo civil justice reforms passed in recent years and advance the ability for trial attorneys to target businesses for lawsuits. This included blocking attempts during the legislative session by trial attorneys to enact sweeping reforms to Florida’s arbitration system that would significantly and detrimentally alter Florida’s arbitration system and that ability for businesses and consumers to settle claims without going to court.
FJRI also continued championing several civil justice reforms that would help ensure Florida businesses are no longer the target of lawsuits. The reforms included, reforming the state’s bad faith laws, providing sovereign immunity to emergency medical providers and ensuring that expert testimony presented in Florida courts is reliable and relevant.
In 2007, FJRI successfully defeated a coordinated effort to resurrect joint and several liability by amending the Fabre doctrine.
In 2006, FJRI succeeded in passing a full repeal of joint and several liability, the legal doctrine that forces defendants to pay more than their fair share of economic damages if other defendants who are more responsible are unable to pay.
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"The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body. The observation, if it prove any thing, would prove that there ought to be no judges distinct from that body."
- The Federalist No. 78 - PUBLIUS [Alexander Hamilton] - 1788
