Old foes reignited the battle over civil litigation in Florida on Wednesday, with a bill advancing out of a House committee that would make it more difficult to sue businesses.

For years, the feud over what commonly is referred to as "tort reform" has pitted the state's powerful business lobby against trial lawyers, who also wield considerable clout in Tallahassee.

House Bill 1513 parrots a bill proposed by the high-profile Associated Industries of Florida business lobby. It offers immunity to entities ranging from retailers who unknowingly sell defective products and police in car chases to utilities whose streetlights have burned out.

The Republican-dominated House Governmental Operations Committee voted 5-2 along party lines to advance the bill.

"Florida's economic prosperity, I would submit to you today, is dependent on the Legislature passing true tort reform now," said state Rep. Don Brown, R-De Funiak Springs.

Those who make their living in court had a different interpretation of the status quo.

"In recent years, approximately one-third of all civil lawsuits were filed by businesses. Less than 5 percent are negligence cases brought by people of this state," said Tom Edwards, of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. "Yet here we are with businesses who are suing more and more every day looking to take away the rights of the average citizen, and that's wrong."

With Gov. Jeb Bush a staunch supporter of the bill and Republicans dominating both legislative chambers, tort reform advocates are shooting for sweeping change. Brown's bill addresses at least 11 aspects of tort law.

A key provision would eliminate what is known as joint and several liability, which allows plaintiffs to collect disproportionate damages from a defendant who bears a fraction of the fault.

Business interests also want to roll back what is known as premises liability, where property owners bear some responsibility for crimes or injuries caused by third parties on their property.

The bill also would protect motor vehicle owners from vicarious liability for accidents involving their vehicles, including rental-car companies, and chiefly limit responsibility for defective products to the manufacturer, granting immunity to those in the distribution chain.

Under the bill, products could not be presumed defective or unreasonably dangerous just because the manufacturer or seller did not comply with pertinent federal or state laws or regulations. Juries would be informed of any payments to claimants that could be offset in an award.

State Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, complained of the bill's broad sweep and urged fellow committee members to split the bill into separate legal concepts. That is happening with companion legislation in the Senate, where several bills have yet to be heard in committee.

Another Democrat, Jeffrey Kott- kamp, of Cape Coral, took issue with introductory language in the bill that states civil lawsuits filed against those who ought not be held liable "have become a threat to the ... public safety of the citizens of this state."

"Be careful with that," Kottkamp told the sponsor.

Brown called the bill "the beginning of a dialogue" and said he intended to address concerns over the bill.