Court Denies Retroactvity for Florida Asbestos

When Florida lawmakers passed asbestos legislation in 2005, they muddied the waters for plaintiffs afflicted with asbestosis who were in the throes of litigation.

The state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal has now clarified the situation, ruling that the Florida Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act cannot be retroactively applied to prejudice causes of action already accrued and in litigation.

The court agreed with plaintiffs that before the 2005 act, Florida recognized a cause of action for damages arising from the disease of asbestosis without any permanent impairment or the presence of cancer.

Under the 2005 reform law, plaintiffs are required to prove malignancy in conjunction with claims of complications due to asbestos exposure or asbestosis.

“We hold that the Act cannot constitutionally be so applied and return the cases to the trial court for consistent proceedings,” the court said.

Before the 2005 act was adopted, the plaintiffs in these cases filed actions for damages based on various degrees of asbestosis. According to plaintiffs, when they filed their lawsuits before the act’s adoption it was not necessary to establish that any malignancy or physical impairment had already resulted from their contraction of asbestosis. They claimed it was merely necessary for them to show that they had suffered an injury from an asbestos-related disease.

The court’s decision referenced a 1988 case stating that there is usually a latent period of 10 to 25 years between initial asbestos exposure and apparent effect. Some workers exposed for 40 years or more do not become diseased at all whereas others exposed for shorter periods of time will contract asbestosis.

The court concluded that it is not “intellectually possible on the basis of any recognized principles to disconnect the several provisions of an Act whose singular purpose is to end litigation by claimants who have been damaged by asbestos exposure without resulting malignancy or physical impairment”.