Bill Text: FL S1276 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Litigation Financing
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-08 - Died on Calendar [S1276 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1276-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Litigation Financing
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-08 - Died on Calendar [S1276 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1276-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1276 By Senator Collins 14-01431B-24 20241276__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to litigation financing; providing a 3 short title; designating ss. 69.011-69.081, F.S., as 4 part I of ch. 69, F.S.; creating part II of ch. 69, 5 F.S., relating to litigation financing; creating s. 6 69.101, F.S.; providing definitions; creating s. 7 69.103, F.S.; requiring a court’s consideration of 8 potential conflicts of interest which may arise from 9 the existence of a litigation financing agreement in 10 specified circumstances; creating s. 69.105, F.S.; 11 prohibiting specified acts by litigation financiers; 12 creating s. 69.107, F.S.; requiring certain 13 disclosures related to litigation financing agreements 14 and the involvement of foreign persons, foreign 15 principals, or sovereign wealth funds; providing for 16 discovery related to litigation financing agreements; 17 creating s. 69.109, F.S.; requiring the 18 indemnification of specified fees, costs, and 19 sanctions by a litigation financier in specified 20 circumstances; creating s. 69.111, F.S.; providing 21 that a litigation financing agreement is void in 22 specified circumstances; providing for enforcement of 23 specified violations under the Florida Deceptive and 24 Unfair Trade Practices Act; providing severability; 25 providing applicability; providing an effective date. 26 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28 29 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Litigation 30 Investment Safeguards and Transparency Act.” 31 Section 2. Sections 69.011, 69.021, 69.031, 69.041, 69.051, 32 69.061, 69.071, and 69.081, Florida Statutes, are designated as 33 part I of chapter 69, Florida Statutes, and entitled “General 34 Provisions.” 35 Section 3. Part II of chapter 69, Florida Statutes, 36 consisting of ss. 69.101, 69.103, 69.105, 69.107, 69.109, and 37 69.111, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 38 39 PART II 40 LITIGATION FINANCING 41 69.101 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 42 (1) “Foreign person” means a person or an entity that is 43 not: 44 (a) A citizen of the United States; 45 (b) An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in 46 the United States; 47 (c) An unincorporated association, a majority of members of 48 which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully 49 admitted for permanent residence in the United States; or 50 (d) A corporation that is incorporated in the United 51 States. 52 (2) “Foreign principal” means: 53 (a) The government or a government official of any country 54 other than the United States; 55 (b) A political subdivision or political party of a country 56 other than the United States; or 57 (c) A partnership, association, corporation, organization, 58 or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or 59 having its principal place of business in a country other than 60 the United States whose shares or other ownership interest is 61 owned by the government or a government official of a country 62 other than the United States or owned by a political subdivision 63 or political party of a country other than the United States. 64 (3) “Health care practitioner” has the same meaning as 65 provided in s. 456.001. 66 (4) “Litigation financier” means a person engaged in the 67 business of providing litigation financing. 68 (5) “Litigation financing agreement” or “litigation 69 financing” means a transaction in which a litigation financier 70 agrees to provide financing to a person who is a party to or 71 counsel of record for a civil action, administrative proceeding, 72 claim, or other legal proceeding in exchange for a right to 73 receive payment, which right is contingent in any respect on the 74 outcome of such action, claim, or proceeding or on the outcome 75 of any matter within a portfolio that includes such action, 76 claim, or proceeding and involves the same counsel or affiliated 77 counsel. However, the terms do not apply to: 78 (a) An agreement wherein funds are provided for or to a 79 party to a civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or 80 other legal proceeding for such person’s use in paying his or 81 her costs of living or other personal or familial expenses 82 during the pendency of such action, claim, or proceeding and 83 where such funds are not used to finance any litigation or other 84 legal costs. 85 (b) An agreement wherein an attorney consents to provide 86 legal services on a contingency fee basis or to advance his or 87 her client’s legal costs, and where such services or costs are 88 provided by the attorney in accordance with the Florida Rules of 89 Professional Conduct. 90 (c) An entity with a preexisting contractual obligation to 91 indemnify or defend a party to a civil action, administrative 92 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding. 93 (d) A health insurer that has paid, or is obligated to pay, 94 any sums for health care for an injured person under the terms 95 of a health insurance plan or agreement. 96 (e) The repayment of a financial institution, as defined in 97 s. 655.005, for loans made directly to a party to a civil 98 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 99 proceeding or such party’s attorney when repayment of the loan 100 is not contingent upon the outcome of such action, claim, or 101 proceeding or on the outcome of any matter within a portfolio 102 that includes such action, claim, or proceeding and involves the 103 same counsel or affiliated counsel. 104 (f) Funding provided to a nonprofit legal organization 105 funded by private donors that represents clients on a pro bono, 106 no-cost basis, if the nonprofit legal organization seeks only 107 injunctive relief on behalf of its clients. This part does not 108 affect the award of costs or attorney fees to a nonprofit legal 109 organization in the pro bono, no-cost pursuit of injunctive 110 relief. 111 (6) “National security interests” means those interests 112 relating to the national defense, foreign intelligence and 113 counterintelligence, international, and domestic security, and 114 foreign relations. 115 (7) “Proprietary information” means information developed, 116 created, or discovered by a person, or which became known by or 117 was conveyed to the person, which has commercial value in the 118 person’s business. The term includes, but is not limited to, 119 domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, ideas, techniques, 120 inventions, regardless of whether patentable, and other 121 information of any type relating to designs, configurations, 122 documentation, recorded data, schematics, circuits, mask works, 123 layouts, source code, object code, master works, master 124 databases, algorithms, flow charts, formulae, works of 125 authorship, mechanisms, research, manufacture, improvements, 126 assembly, installation, intellectual property including patents 127 and patent applications, and information concerning the person’s 128 actual or anticipated business, research, or development or 129 received in confidence by or for the person from any other 130 source. 131 (8) “Sovereign wealth fund” means an investment fund owned 132 or controlled by a foreign principal or an agent thereof. 133 69.103 Litigation financing agreement; representation of 134 client interests.—A court may take the existence of a litigation 135 financing agreement into account: 136 (1) In a class action lawsuit brought in the courts of this 137 state when determining whether a class representative or class 138 counsel would adequately and fairly represent the interests of 139 the class. 140 (2) In actions involving a common question of law or fact 141 pending before the court which may be or have been consolidated 142 when determining whether the lead counsel or any co-lead counsel 143 would adequately and fairly represent the interests of the 144 parties to such actions. 145 69.105 Prohibited conduct.—A litigation financier may not: 146 (1) Direct, or make any decisions with respect to, the 147 course of any civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or 148 other legal proceeding for which the litigation financier has 149 provided financing, or any settlement or other disposition 150 thereof. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, 151 decisions in appointing or changing counsel, choice or use of 152 expert witnesses, and litigation strategy. All rights to make 153 decisions with respect to the course and settlement or other 154 disposition of the subject civil action, administrative 155 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding remain solely with 156 the parties to such action, claim, or proceeding and their 157 counsel of record. 158 (2) Contract for or receive, whether directly or 159 indirectly, a larger share of the proceeds of a civil action, 160 administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding 161 financed by a litigation financing agreement than the share of 162 the proceeds collectively recovered by the plaintiffs to any 163 such action, claim, or proceeding after the payment of any 164 attorney fees and costs owed in connection to such action, 165 claim, or proceeding. 166 (3) Pay or offer to pay a commission, referral fee, or 167 other consideration to any person, including an attorney, law 168 firm, or health care practitioner, for referring a person to the 169 litigation financier. 170 (4) Assign or securitize a litigation financing agreement 171 in whole or in part. 172 (5) Be assigned rights to or in a civil action, 173 administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding for 174 which the litigation financier provided financing, other than 175 the right to receive a share of the proceeds of such action, 176 claim, or proceeding pursuant to the litigation financing 177 agreement. 178 69.107 Required disclosures; discovery obligations.— 179 (1) An attorney who enters into a litigation financing 180 agreement must disclose the existence and deliver a copy of the 181 agreement to the client he or she represents in the civil 182 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 183 proceeding financed by the agreement within 30 days after being 184 retained as counsel by such client, or within 30 days after 185 entering into the litigation financing agreement, whichever is 186 earlier. 187 (2) Except as otherwise stipulated to by the parties to a 188 civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 189 proceeding, or as otherwise ordered by a court of competent 190 jurisdiction, a party to or counsel of record for a civil 191 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 192 proceeding who enters into a litigation financing agreement with 193 respect to such action, claim, or proceeding must, without 194 awaiting a discovery request and within 30 days after 195 commencement of such action, claim, or proceeding, disclose the 196 existence and deliver to the following parties a copy of the 197 litigation financing agreement: 198 (a) All parties to the civil action, administrative 199 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding. 200 (b) The court, agency, or tribunal in which the civil 201 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 202 proceeding is pending. 203 (c) Any known person, including an insurer, with a 204 preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a 205 party to the civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or 206 other legal proceeding. 207 (3) In addition to complying with subsections (1) and (2), 208 the class counsel of a putative class in a class action lawsuit 209 for which litigation financing is obtained must disclose to the 210 following persons the existence of any legal, financial, or 211 other relationship between the class counsel and the litigation 212 financier that exists separate and apart from the litigation 213 financing agreement itself within 30 days after commencement of 214 such action or of the execution of the litigation financing 215 agreement, whichever is earlier: 216 (a) All parties to the civil action, administrative 217 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding. 218 (b) The court, agency, or tribunal in which the civil 219 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 220 proceeding is pending. 221 (c) Any known person, including an insurer, with a 222 preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a 223 party to the civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or 224 other legal proceeding. 225 (4) The class counsel in a class action or putative class 226 action lawsuit for which litigation financing is obtained must, 227 upon the request of a class member, disclose and deliver a copy 228 of the litigation financing agreement to the class member. 229 (5) In addition to complying with subsections (1) and (2), 230 the lead counsel and co-lead counsel, if any, for civil actions 231 consolidated in the courts of this state must disclose to the 232 following parties the existence of and deliver a copy of any 233 litigation financing agreement entered into in connection with 234 any of the consolidated actions: 235 (a) All parties to the consolidated civil actions. 236 (b) The court, agency, or tribunal in which the civil 237 actions are pending. 238 (c) Any known person, including an insurer, with a 239 preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a 240 party to the civil actions. 241 (6)(a) A party to a civil action, administrative 242 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding, or such party’s 243 counsel of record, must, except as otherwise stipulated to by 244 the parties to such action, claim, or proceeding, or as 245 otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, disclose 246 as prescribed in paragraph (b) the name, address, and 247 citizenship or country of incorporation or registration of any 248 foreign person, foreign principal, or sovereign wealth fund 249 that, with respect to the action, claim, or proceeding: 250 1. Obtained or will obtain a right to receive any payment 251 that is contingent in any respect on the outcome of such civil 252 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 253 proceeding, or on the outcome of any matter within a portfolio 254 that includes such civil action, administrative proceeding, 255 claim, or other legal proceeding and involves the same counsel 256 or affiliated counsel; 257 2. Provided or will provide funds, whether directly or 258 indirectly, which funds have been or will be used to satisfy any 259 term of a litigation financing agreement into which the party or 260 the party’s counsel of record has entered to finance such civil 261 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 262 proceeding; or 263 3. Has received or is entitled to receive proprietary 264 information or information affecting national security interests 265 obtained as a result of the financing of such civil action, 266 administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding by a 267 litigation financing agreement entered into by the party or the 268 party’s counsel of record. 269 (b) The disclosures required in paragraph (a) must be made 270 to the following persons: 271 1. All parties to the civil action, administrative 272 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding. 273 2. The court, agency, or tribunal in which the civil 274 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 275 proceeding is pending. 276 3. Any known person, including an insurer, with a 277 preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a 278 party to the civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, or 279 other legal proceeding. 280 4. The Department of Financial Services. 281 5. The Office of the Attorney General. 282 (7) The fact of the existence of a litigation financing 283 agreement and the identities of all parties to the agreement are 284 discoverable in any civil action, administrative proceeding, 285 claim, or other legal proceeding financed by such an agreement, 286 unless the court, for good cause shown, determines otherwise. 287 (8) The disclosure obligations in this section are ongoing 288 obligations. Thus, when a party to a civil action, 289 administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding, or 290 his or her counsel of record: 291 (a) Enters into or amends a litigation financing agreement 292 after the commencement of such action, claim, or proceeding, the 293 party or attorney has 30 days after the date of entering into or 294 amending the litigation financing agreement to comply with the 295 disclosure obligations established herein. 296 (b) Obtains information on the involvement of a foreign 297 person, foreign principal, or sovereign wealth fund after the 298 commencement of such action, claim, or proceeding, which 299 involvement would require disclosure under this section, the 300 party or attorney has 30 days after the date of obtaining the 301 information to comply with the disclosure obligations 302 established herein. 303 69.109 Indemnification by litigation financiers.—In any 304 litigation financing agreement, the litigation financier must 305 agree to indemnify the plaintiffs to the civil action, 306 administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding 307 funded in the agreement and such plaintiffs’ counsel of record 308 against any adverse costs, attorney fees, damages, or sanctions 309 that may be ordered or awarded against such persons in such 310 action, claim, or proceeding. However, indemnification is not 311 required for those adverse costs, attorney fees, damages, or 312 sanctions that the litigation financier can show resulted from 313 the intentional misconduct of such plaintiffs or plaintiffs’ 314 counsel of record. 315 69.111 Violations; enforcement.— 316 (1) A litigation financing agreement executed in violation 317 of this part is void and unenforceable. 318 (2) A violation of s. 69.105 or s. 69.109 is a deceptive 319 and unfair trade practice actionable under part II of chapter 320 501. 321 (3) A court, agency, or tribunal of competent jurisdiction 322 may impose fines or any other sanction it deems appropriate upon 323 any person who violates s. 69.107. 324 Section 4. If any provision of this act or its application 325 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity 326 does not affect other provisions or applications of the act 327 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or 328 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 329 severable. 330 Section 5. The disclosure requirements in s. 69.107, 331 Florida Statutes, as created by this act apply to any civil 332 action, administrative proceeding, claim, or other legal 333 proceeding pending or commenced on or after July 1, 2024. Any 334 party to or counsel of record for a civil action, administrative 335 proceeding, claim, or other legal proceeding pending on July 1, 336 2024, who would have been required to make a disclosure under s. 337 69.107, Florida Statutes, had it been in effect at the time the 338 relevant action occurred must make the disclosure under that 339 section within 30 days after July 1, 2024. Failure to do so is 340 sanctionable as provided in s. 69.111, Florida Statutes. 341 Section 6. Except as otherwise provided herein, this act 342 applies to a litigation financing agreement entered into on or 343 after July 1, 2024. 344 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.