2023
2023 will be remembered as watershed year for civil justice reform in Florida. Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the Florida Legislature passed a comprehensive, transformational bill full of long-time FJRI priorities. These included repeal of the one-way attorney fee statute and limits on contingency risk multipliers, clarity and a safe harbor for third-party bad faith actions, transparency in medical damages and limits on Letters of Protection, premises liability reform, and adoption of modified comparative liability. FJRI proudly played a central role in the development and support of this monumental achievement.
With the dam breaking, the Legislature also passed several more FJRI priorities including: reforming construction defect litigation by lowering the statute of repose for latent defects to seven years and clarifying when that timeframe begins; abolishing assignments of benefits for auto windshield claims; clarifying what constitutes consumer consent and disclosure and providing a safe harbor from “gotcha” litigation for businesses who market using phone calls and texts.
2022 Special Session D
In the Special Session D called to address Florida’ property insurance crisis, FJRI worked closely with the Governor’s office and legislative leaders on significant litigation reforms including: reversing Joyce v. Federated National Insurance Company and conforming Florida law to Federal law so that contingency risk multipliers are only applied in rare and exceptional circumstances; prohibiting assignment of the one-way attorney’s fee right under 627.428 and 626.9373, Florida Statutes; and, reversing Cammarata v. State Farm Florida Insurance Co. to require a claimant to establish a breach of contract in order to prevail on a first-party bad faith claim against an insurer.
2022
During the 2022 Regular Session, FJRI supported the successful passage of legislation to extend for another 14 months the COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers passed in the 2021 session. FJRI also successfully opposed bills that would have increased litigation, expanded liability, or authorized new causes of action for novel grievances. Topping the list were bills that would have placed substantial new requirements on businesses to protect consumer data, expanded medical malpractice liability for the loss of an adult child with no surviving spouse or children, and increased current sovereign immunity limits.
2021
The Florida Supreme Court kicked the year off by adopting the federal summary judgment standard for Florida state courts by their ruling in WilsonArt v. Lopez. FJRI had filed an amicus brief, and the Court’s ruling largely followed FJRI’s reasoning. FJRI also played a leading role in the passage of legislation to extend COVID-19 liability protections to employers, including a heightened culpability standard of gross negligence or intentional conduct, a heightened evidentiary standard of clear and convincing evidence, and a shortened statute of limitations.
2019 – 2020
FJRI was a leading advocate for assignment of benefits legislation in 2019, including replacing the one-way attorney fee for insurance claim assignees with a defined prevailing party formula. FJRI also successfully supported bills to narrow the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, and give appraisal time to work before a claimant can file a civil remedy notice for bad faith.
FJRI also made progress on accuracy in damages, which passed all of its House committees for the first time, and welcomed renewed attention on medical malpractice and workers’ compensation reform. Finally, FJRI was the only entity to publicly oppose legislation that stripped pharmacies of legal protections originally granted to them for reporting data to the Physician Drug Monitoring Program opioid database.
In 2020, FJRI priorities like accuracy in damages and bad faith reform progressed further than ever through the legislative process, and new issues like litigation financing and asbestos trust claims reform saw substantial discussion and consideration.
2019
FJRI went back on offense in 2019, as the 2018 elections and new legislative leadership brought renewed enthusiasm for civil justice reform.
FJRI was a leading advocate for assignment of benefits legislation that replaced the one-way attorney fee for insurance claim assignees with a defined prevailing party formula. FJRI also successfully supported bills that narrow the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, and give appraisal time to work before a claimant can file a civil remedy notice for bad faith. FJRI also made progress on accuracy in damages, which passed all of its House committees for the first time, and welcomed renewed attention on medical malpractice and workers’ compensation reform.
Finally, acting on the courage of its convictions, FJRI was the only entity to publicly oppose legislation that stripped pharmacies of legal protections originally granted to them for reporting data to the Physician Drug Monitoring Program opioid database.
2017 – 2018
As expected, this two-year cycle saw a trial bar on the offense, as FJRI fought bill after bill designed to expand liability and litigation or deflect consideration of business-oriented proposals on similar topics.
In 2017, FJRI led the opposition to the trial lawyers’ top priority – mandatory prejudgment interest. If enacted, the threat of this mandate would have forced defendants to settle meritless cases. FJRI also characteristically weighed in where few dared to tread, opposing and defeating judicial term limits, a leadership priority.
In 2018, FJRI successfully worked to defeat numerous trial bar priorities including: bills to replace auto no-fault with higher-limit mandatory liability and medical payments coverages, but naturally without any bad faith reform; bills to repeal Florida’s long-standing nonjoinder statute that prevents prejudicing juries into making unreasonably large awards based on the defendant’s “deep pocket”; and, bills to raise the county court jurisdiction limits from $15,000 to $50,000, placing more complex cases with less experienced county court judges, and increasing the appellate burden for circuit courts unprepared to deal with the caseload.
2014-2016
FJRI has led the way on several long-term, “big lift” battles on a handful of top priorities. These have included accuracy in damages (so that juries hear all the evidence regarding the actual cost and value of rendered medical treatment before making an award), fair settlement of insurance claims (to provide clear guidelines before a plaintiff can file a bad faith lawsuit), and assignment of benefits (to ensure that policyholders remain in control of all their insurance rights and benefits).
FJRI has also increasingly fought defensive actions on issues supported by trial lawyers that propose to increase the cost and frequency of litigation. These have included mandatory prejudgment interest and mandated car liability insurance, as well as emerging issues like drone liability.
We’ve continued to support the full implementation of the use of the Daubert expert evidence passed by the legislature in 2013.
2013
Expert Evidence Medical
During the 2013 session, capping a multi-year effort by FJRI, lawmakers replaced Florida’s 90-year-old expert evidence standard with the modern Daubert standard used in all federal courts and many states’ courts. Unlike the old standard that allowed the admission of pure opinion, under Daubert, judges act as “gatekeepers” and are responsible for ensuring that expert evidence presented in court is relevant, reliable, and based on sound science. This historic achievement for advocacy groups will help put an end to the forum shopping litigation in Florida.
Medical Liability Reform
FJRI successfully supported legal legislation that ensures a physician’s right to legal counsel and requires expert witnesses to practice in the same specialty as the defendant.
2012
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
During the 2012 legislative session, FJRI helped lead the charge to reform Florida’s broken Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system. Our lobbying organization pushed successfully to end the practice of exponentially increasing litigation costs associated with Florida’s personal injury protection insurance by removing the use of attorney fee multipliers. These fee multipliers benefited attorneys at the expense of consumers and were costing insurers and Florida drivers millions of dollars.
2011
Crashworthiness
During the 2011 session, lawmakers repealed the state’s antiquated crashworthiness doctrine in cases brought against automobile manufacturers for vehicle malfunction when there is an accident. Previous rulings prevented Florida juries from apportioning fault in accidents–meaning they couldn’t consider a driver’s fault in the accident even if he was drunk, texting, and otherwise distracted while driving. Under the new law, juries will be able to consider all of the facts when determining fault in accidents where there was an alleged automobile design defect.
Medical Liability Reform
FJRI championed medical reforms during the 2011 legislative session.
Sinkhole Litigation reform
During the 2011 session, FJRI successfully incorporated provisions into the omnibus property insurance bill that shore up definitions of what would actually constitute a sinkhole claim and that increase the burden on the plaintiff to actually prove their damages were, indeed, caused by a sinkhole.
2010
Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting
State attorney generals, including the Florida Attorney General, have the power to hire private attorneys to sue on the state’s behalf and compensate these attorneys through the use of contingency fee agreements. This compensation comes out of the state’s coffers without first going through an appropriations process, and is subtracted from judgments awarded to the state for damages incurred by the people of Florida.
During the 2010 session, FJRI was a strong advocate for legal legislation championed by then Attorney General Bill McCollum that ensures there is transparency in private attorney contracts with the state. The new law caps the amount private attorneys can collect in fees, preventing money rightfully owed the state from being diverted to over compensate private attorneys.
Slip and Fall Reform
During the 2010 session, FJRI championed legal reform to the state’s slip-and-fall laws to restore standards of constructive notice for businesses without forfeiting sound protections for injured business patrons.
In recent years, Florida businesses were experiencing a considerable increase in exposure to predatory lawsuits as a result of a 2002 law, which removed the requirement that a plaintiff prove that a business had knowledge of the existence of a transitory foreign substance that presented a danger to patrons and could cause them to “slip-and-fall.”
In 2010, FJRI led the charge toward tort reform, passing the new law adopting a reasonable framework for slip-and-fall liability law and restoring a logical standard of constructive notice.
Parental Liability Waivers
During the 2010 session, FJRI helped restore the rights of parents to sign a liability waiver on behalf of their minor child.
A 2008 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court in Kirton vs. Fields compromised the enforceability of pre-injury release forms (also known as liability waivers) signed by a parent and given to a service provider when their child participated in a specified activity.
The new law takes into account the rights of children to have access to these activities and the ability of a parent to make decisions in the best interest of their child, understanding there is some inherent risk when children participate in activities like riding ATVs, scuba diving, and even playing sports.
2009
Workers’ Compensation Reform
The entire business community was united with workers’ comp reform advocacy groups in Tallahassee, FL, in support of the passage of HB 903, which restores critical workers’ compensation reforms passed in 2003, which were undone by the Florida Supreme Court ruling, Murray v. Mariners Health.
HB 903 clarifies the limit on excessive attorneys’ fees and ensures the wellbeing of millions of hardworking Floridians, businesses, and the state’s overall economy. This was a big win for workers’ compensation laws advocacy groups.
2008
In 2008, FJRI identified several legislative priorities that built on past civil justice reforms, like the abolishment of joint and several liability, reforming the state’s bad faith laws, providing sovereign immunity to emergency medical providers and ensuring the expert testimony presented in Florida courts is reliable and relevant.
Our lobbying organization also successfully blocked several attempts by trial attorneys during the legislative session to enact sweeping legal reform to Florida’s arbitration system. Their proposals would have detrimentally altered Florida’s arbitration system and the ability for businesses and consumers to settle claims without going to court.
2007
During the legislative session, FJRI defended civil justice on behalf of Florida’s business community by blocking several initiatives pushed by the Florida Trial Bar that would have undone civil justice reforms passed in recent years and advanced the ability for trial attorneys to target businesses for lawsuits.
FJRI successfully blocked several attempts by the Trial Bar to repeal the so-called “Fabre Doctrine” during the legislative session — which would have abolished the 2006 joint and several liability law reforms.
2006
During the 2006 legislative session, FJRI helped pass some of the most significant civil justice reforms in the state’s history.
Repeal of Joint and Several Liability
On April 26, 2006, Governor Jeb Bush put an end to a 33-year struggle to restore fairness and predictability to Florida’s civil justice system by signing HB 145, repealing the unfair doctrine of joint and several liability.
HB 145 ended an unjust and illogical mismatch of two disparate legal concepts: comparative fault and joint and several liability.
Now, defendants are no longer forced to pay more than their fair share of damages when another defendant cannot pay.
The repeal of joint and several liability was a historic first step in restoring fairness, common sense, and predictability to Florida’s civil justice system.
Class Action Lawsuit Reform
The FJRI also successfully passed HB 7259, limiting class action lawsuits to Florida residents with limited exceptions.
The legal legislation leaves the doors of Florida’s courts open to real victims, while providing judges with the tools needed to throw out unjustified class action lawsuits.
2005
In 2005, FJRI helped the business community pass several key civil justice reforms.
Asbestos and Silica Compensation Act
HB 1019 ensured that only truly sick patients (and not healthy litigants who were merely exposed at some point in their life) will have access to the available compensation for asbestos-related illnesses.
Street Lights Liability Reform
HB 135 provided limited liability for street light providers from lawsuits stemming from recently burned-out lights.