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Fla. Senate Makes Suing Auto Makers Harder

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - It's going to be more difficult for injured consumers to sue auto makers and other manufacturers under a new bill passed by the Florida Senate.

The new bill would overturn a 2001 Florida Supreme Court decision in a suit against Ford that said evidence of the primary cause of a crash, like driver error, cannot be introduced in product liability cases.

The bill passed on essentially a party-line vote with only one Republican voting against and one Democrat in favor.

The bill is currently stalled in the Florida House amid intense lobbying by business interests and lawyers who represent injured consumers.

If signed into law, it will be the latest industry in the Sunshine State that the Legislature has decided to enact limits on when it comes to lawsuits.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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