The Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases has published the following notices seeking public comments on possible amendments to the Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases.
CURRENT NOTICES
PAST NOTICES
The Committee published the following notices that had sought public comments on proposed amendments.
Notice published in the February 1, 2013, Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was March 1, 2013. This notice proposed amendments to the jury instructions for use in products liability cases, 403.1 through 403.19.
Notice published in the October 15, 2012, Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was November 15, 2012. This notice proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 301.11 (creating new instruction on Failure to Maintain Evidence or Keep Record)
- Instruction 402.4(d) (amending medical negligence instruction regarding the failure to make or maintain records)
- Instruction 501.5(a) (amending note on use to instruction on Other Contributing Causes of Damages, aggravation of disease or defect)
- Instruction 501.7 (amending note on use to instruction on Reduction of Damages to Present Value)
- Instruction 502.7 (amending note on use to instruction on Reduction of Damages to Present Value)
Notice published in the April 15, 2012, Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was May 15, 2012. This notice proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 401.20a (making language gender neutral)
- Instruction 401.22a (correcting legal citation in note on use)
- Instruction 402.4c (correcting legal citation in note on use)
- Instruction 402.12 (correcting cross-reference in note on use)
- Instruction 406.6 (making language gender neutral)
- Instruction 410.8 (correcting legal citations in note on use)
- Instruction 412.1 (correcting cross-reference to instructions on the “Joint Liability of Joint Tortfeasors” and changing the name of that instruction to “Liability of Multiple Tortfeasors”)
- Instruction 501.1 (correcting the instruction providing the introduction to personal injury and property damages to remove incorrect language applicable in wrongful death cases; revising the instruction to make it more understandable and eliminate repetitive language)
- Instruction 501.9 (changing name of instruction on “Joint Liability of Joint Tortfeasors” to “Liability of Multiple Tortfeasors”)
- Instruction 502.1 (revising the instruction providing the introduction to wrongful death damages to make it more understandable and eliminate repetitive language)
- Instruction 502.5 (correcting legal citations in the notes on use)
- Instruction 502.8 (changing name of instruction on “Joint Liability of Joint Tortfeasors” to “Liability of Multiple Tortfeasors”)
Notice published in the April 15, 2012, Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was May 15, 2012. This notice proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 402.4 (revises medical negligence instruction in light of Auster v. Gertrude & Philip Strax Breast Cancer Detection Instit., Inc., 649 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995));
- Instruction 502.2 (revises the note on use for instruction 502.2b on the lost accumulations element of damages in wrongful death cases)
Notice published March 1, 2012 in the Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was April 1, 2012. This notice proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 201.2 (revising instruction on Introduction of the Participants and Their Roles to add an introduction in cases involving an uninsured or under
- Instruction 700 (revising closing instruction)
Notice published October 1, 2011 in the Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was November 1, 2011. Proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 401.13 (correcting cross-reference in instruction on preemptive charges)
- Instruction 401.22f (revising the instruction on apportionment of fault to address situations when a party or is alleged to be strictly liable)
- Instruction 402.4d (deleting the word “and” to correct a grammatical error)
- Instruction 406.5 (making malice instruction gender neutral)
- Instruction 408.6 (revising note 6 to correct grammatical error)
- Instruction 409.7 (revising instruction on fraudulent misrepresentation to make clear that causation is an element)
- Instruction 409.8 (revising instruction on negligent misrepresentation to make clear that causation is an element)
- Instruction 409.9 (revising instruction on false information negligently supplied for the guidance of others to make clear that causation is an element)
- Section 500 and Instructions 501.1, 501.3, 501.4 (This proposal reverses the numbering of instructions 501.3 and 501.4. The current instruction 501.4, Motor Vehicle Fault Threshold Instruction, will be renumbered to instruction 501.3. The current instruction 501.3, Comparative Negligence and Non-Party Fault, will be renumbered instruction 501.4. The title of the “Motor Vehicle Fault Threshold Instruction” will be changed to “Motor Vehicle No-Fault Instruction.” In the Comparative Negligence and Non-Party Fault Instruction (currently 501.3, to be renumbered 501.4), the proposal adds the word “[fault]” to address situations where a party or nonparty is alleged to be strictly liable.)
- Instruction 501.5 (revises the instruction on Other Contributing Causes of Damages to address the decision in Stuart v. Hertz Corp., 351 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 1977))
- Instruction 502.2 (added gender neutral language)
- Instruction 502.5 (revising instruction in wrongful death cases on Comparative Negligence, Non-Party Fault and Multiple Defendants to address situations where the party or non-party is alleged to be strictly liable)
- Model Instructions 1 through 4 and 6 (making several revisions to the model charges to make them consistent with the revisions to the instructions)
- Note on Use for Punitive Damages Charges (republishing notice previously found in the civil jury instructions)
Notice published September 15, 2011 in the Florida Bar News. Deadline for comments was October 15, 2011. Proposes amendments to:
- Instruction 201.2 (revising instruction on Introduction of the Participants and Their Roles to address pro se parties)
- Instruction 401.20a (revising note on use regarding changes in statutes on transitory foreign objects in premises liability cases)
- Instruction 801.2 (revising notes on use regarding read-back of trial testimony)
- Instruction 301.11 (proposing new instruction on spoliation of evidence)
