Talk about bravado.
Barney Bishop, president of Associated Industries of Florida, issued this gutsy call to action Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after the trial lawyers' "False Accusations" bill squeaked through its first House committee stop on a 5-3 vote.
"Florida 's business community refuses to stand by idly while the trial lawyers again attempt to strip fairness from the courts in favor of big bucks for their pockets," Bishop said in the statement. He then goes on to poke fun at the trial lawyers for changing their name to the Florida Justice Association, and promise stern resistance.
"This is the first round in a heavyweight bout, and we remain confident the Florida Legislature will continue to uphold current law and fairness in the courts."
How much weight do they have to throw around?
Here's what the business groups that supported the repeal of "joint and several liability" last year spent on their boxers, er, lobbyists:
AIF: Up to $1.36 million.
Florida Hospital Association: Up to $1.1 million.
Florida Retail Federation: Up to $719,000.
American Tort Reform Association: Up to $675,000.
Florida Chamber of Commerce: Up to $549,000.
Trial lawyers, when they still went by that name, spent up to $536,000 in a losing effort last year.