International banks with a presence in Florida should take note of the passage of Senate Bill 806, which will take effect Thursday. The new law limits the ability of private civil litigants to obtain records and other documents located abroad from an international banking corporation's branch or agency office in Florida.

SB 806 is the culmination of years of negotiation with Florida legislative and regulatory staff and advocacy led by the international banking industry, represented by the Florida International Bankers Association. Although a product of compromise, SB 806 appears to be an important triumph for financial privacy advocates in the state.

Chevron Litigation

The genesis of SB 806 can be traced to In re Chevron, a June 2012 decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The decision was written against the backdrop of the long and sordid history of the Lago Agrio litigation — a cluster of cases relating to environmental devastation allegedly caused by oil exploration and extraction in Ecuador.