Friday, April 14, 2017 By J. Todd Foster The Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday defied every major business organization in Florida and joined Democrats in unanimously passing a workers’ compensation reform bill that includes hourly attorney fees capped at $250. SB 1582, sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, now heads to the Rules […]
By Mike Vasilinda | Posted: Thu 6:25 PM, Apr 13, 2017 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CAPITOL NEWS SERVICE) – Committees of the Florida House and Senate each voted to abolish the state’s no fault auto insurance law Thursday. The system has resulted in many fraudulent claims. Still, no one is sure if the reform will end the fraud. […]
Thursday, April 13, 2017 By J. Todd Foster Florida claimants’ attorney fees jumped 26% in the 11 months since the state Supreme Court ruled the statutory fee schedule was unconstitutional, but that spike may represent pent-up demand as attorneys held off on filing fee petitions while awaiting the high court’s decision rather than the beginning […]
by Michael Carroll | Apr. 11, 2017, 11:18am TALLAHASSEE – A constitutional amendment to impose 12-year term limits on state Supreme Court and appellate judges passed the Florida House by a bare one-vote margin on March 30, but it will now go before senators who have voiced skepticism about judicial term limits. “It’s something important […]
Opinion Editorial: Insurance abuse driving rates up Posted Apr 8, 2017 at 2:01 AM Until Hurricane Matthew raked the Atlantic coast last October, Florida had been spared major storm damage since the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons devastated homes and businesses — and the state’s property insurance industry. That historically long respite was supposed […]
OUR VIEW: Florida must restrain insurance abuse Hurricane Matthew tore through Captain Daddy’s Riverboat Restaurantin Port Orange, FL. Insurance companies say assignment ofbenefits deals drove up cost of repairs. NEWS-JOURNAL/LOLA GOMEZ Posted Apr 6, 2017 at 2:00 AM The state needs to get this right. Until Hurricane Matthew raked the Atlantic coast last October, […]
Florida lawmakers taking aim at assignment of benefits agreements by David Hutton | Apr. 4, 2017, 1:07am TALLAHASSEE — Lawyers in the Sunshine State may see storm clouds on the horizon as Florida officials look to shut down an alleged plaintiff-attorney get-rich-quick scheme. Lawyers are teaming up with local contractors to make a case to […]
by Carrie Salls | Apr. 1, 2017, 5:11pm TALLAHASSEE — A trend has emerged in the storm-battered Sunshine State in which a relatively small number of roofers and attorneys are utilizing assignment-of-benefits (AOB) clauses in homeowners’ insurance policies to sue insurance companies for more than the actual cost of repair or, in some cases, for […]
MICHAEL MOLINE March 29, 2017, 4:23 pm A proposed constitutional amendment to impose term limits on justices of the Florida Supreme Court and state appellate judges squeaked through the Florida House Wednesday after a majority defeated a series of unfriendly — even sarcastic — amendments. HJR 1, by Eustis Republican Jennifer Sullivan, won 73 “Yes” votes […]
House Approves Judicial Term Limits By BRANDON LARRABEE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA March 29, 2017 – 7:30pm The Florida House on Wednesday narrowly approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit Supreme Court justices and appeals-court judges to two consecutive terms in office, sending a major priority of Speaker Richard Corcoran to an […]