Sunshine in Litigation

Florida has a law called the Sunshine Statute that aims to balance the need for information in a lawsuit with the need to protect business secrets. It’s supposed to help people get information about hazardous products for their lawsuits, but it also tries to prevent unfair advantages for companies and unworthy lawsuits. The Sunshine Statute has two main parts that protect the public from being kept in the dark about potential dangers and government settlements. It defines a public hazard as anything that could cause harm. It also protects trade secrets and confidential information that doesn’t relate to public hazards. People who are affected by these issues, including the media, can challenge them in court. If someone tries to keep this information secret, they have to show a good reason, and the court will review the information privately. There aren’t a lot of court cases about this statute yet, but a few have helped explain how it works. ACandS, Inc. wanted to enforce a federal court order in a state court case involving asbestos. The state court denied their request, so they tried to appeal the decision. The court said they couldn’t appeal because they didn’t show that the denial of their request was a big enough problem. They also said that a Florida law about public hazards might apply to the case. A federal court had a similar case and decided that the Florida law doesn’t apply. Two court cases involving confidential information were reviewed. In one case, the trial court made a decision without giving one party a chance to argue their side. In the other case, a company petitioned the court because they felt the special master’s decision about their confidential documents was wrong. Trade secrets are protected under the law as long as they are not about public safety. A trade secret is valuable information that is not known to the public and is kept secret by its owner. In order to determine if something is a trade secret, the court looks at factors like how well it is kept secret, how valuable it is, and how much effort went into developing it. In addition to looking at documents in court, expert witnesses might testify to help the judge make a decision. If the trade secret defense doesn’t work, the case might go to a higher court. The Sunshine Statute says that government records related to settlements must be kept by the person in charge of them. A public record can be any kind of material related to official government business. The Florida Supreme Court defined a public record as any material prepared for official government business that is meant to pass on or record knowledge. This does not include rough drafts or notes. If someone in charge of public records doesn’t give them to you when they’re supposed to, they could get in trouble. They could get in trouble with their job, get charged with a crime, or have to pay a fine. The Sunshine Statute allows people to challenge the government’s decision to keep certain records secret. If someone takes legal action to open these records, the court has to hold a hearing right away. The person or organization bringing the action can get their legal fees paid if they win. The law is not used very often, and it can be difficult for some people to prove that they have the right to challenge the government’s decision. Overall, the law is not used much, and it can be hard for people to prove they have the right to challenge the government’s decision.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/sunshine-in-litigation/