House sends legal changes to Senate

Tallahassee, FL, USA – Feb 15, 2019: The large meeting hall of Senate Chamber in the Old Capital of Florida

The Florida House on Friday overwhelmingly approved revamping laws about attorney fees in insurance disputes and evidence that can be presented about medical damages in personal-injury and wrongful-death lawsuits. The Senate has not supported the changes, which are opposed by business groups. The House tacked the changes onto a bill (SB 832) that the Senate passed this month to help provide a legal defense to phosphate companies for pollution at former mine sites. The bill, with the House changes, now will go back to the Senate. As an example of the issues in the House changes, lawmakers in 2022 passed a law that shielded property insurers from paying customers’ attorney fees. Before that law, Florida had what is often described as a “one-way” attorney fee system for property insurance. Essentially, that meant If a policyholder successfully sued an insurer over a wrongfully denied claim, the insurer would be responsible for paying the policyholder’s attorney fees. The 2022 law eliminated one-way fees, making each side responsible for their own fees. The House wants to shift to what is sometimes described as a “loser pays” fee system. If a policyholder sues an insurer, the judge would award attorney fees to whichever side prevails in the case. House Majority Leader Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, said the proposed changes would create “balance” and disputed arguments that they were anti-business. “We made it too easy for insurers to delay, deny and underpay claims,” Sirois said. After making the changes, the House voted 80-20 to approve the bill.