2019 is on track to have as many auto glass lawsuits as last year

Linda Stewart seeks to reduce windshield glass repair incentives
No more cash, rebates or gift cards.

By Renzo Downey on November 12, 2019

On the heels of a report showing that the influx of windshield glass repair lawsuits is here to stay, Senators heard a bill Tuesday to reduce incentives for filing suits and increase consumer protections.

Orlando Democratic Sen. Linda Stewart’s bill (SB 312) would prevent auto repair shops from offering incentives including cash, rebates or gift cards for customers to sign over their auto insurance benefits for faster repairs.

Current incentives intended to help small businesses compete with national glass-repair brands have created an industry perpetuated by a dozen law firms, largely in Stewart’s home of Orange County. Local repair shops offer cheaper, expedited repairs when given the right to charge the customer’s insurance company at a rate that is often higher than through the company’s contracted vendor.

“It does hurt the insurance companies, I will say, because they’re having to pay more than they normally would pay, but they’re allowed to do that,” Stewart said. “This bill does not take away in any way shape or form their ability for a lawsuit. That’s not in the bill.”

After an amendment entered Friday, the bill would require repair shops to submit cost estimates and to notify insurance companies about pending suits, an effort to have law firms and insurance companies negotiate out of court. The fine print on the waiver relinquishing customer’s insurance coverage would also be enlarged to a readable 16-point font.

“It’s unfair to not tell the people that they’re giving away all their rights to this company. Then they find it interesting that, when they go into a lawsuit, their name is on a lawsuit because they gave away their assignment of benefit (AOB),” Stewart said.

Auto glass lawsuits peaked in 2017 at nearly 24,000, according to the Florida Justice Reform Institute report. The tort reform lobbyists estimate the number of suits to reach 16,000 or 17,000 by the end of the year, still four times the 2013 level of more than 4,000.

In the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, lawmakers agreed to postpone further testimony on the bill until next week to allow more witnesses to testify on the bill. Stewart expects the committee to pass the bill, but the committee’s ranking Democrat, Tampa Sen. Darryl Rouson, said he does not support the expanded bill.

Last Session, lawmakers stripped the reform from the AOB omnibus bill but left reforms in for property repairs.

More than 90% of auto glass suits come from a dozen firms mostly clustered in Orange and Hillsborough counties.

Lobbyists and lawyers appeared at the committee meeting to testify against the bill, but more are expected to testify next week, which Stewart said might derail the legislation.

Florida Justice Association President Leslie Kroeger testified that the bill would benefit insurance companies that don’t need to submit the documentation small businesses would need to complete the repair.

“Practically speaking, the larger companies, which are looking frankly to hold a monopoly in this area, have a negotiated payment. They don’t need an assignment of benefits,” Kroeger said. “So what this really is doing is a death by a thousand cuts to small businesses, to independent mom-and-pop auto replacement [businesses].”

The bill also requires auto shops to recalibrate advanced driver-assistance systems — modern safety features like automatic braking sensors are often installed directly into windshields — if necessary, or to notify customers that the system will need to be restored. Current law does not require shops to do so, which can leave customers unwittingly without an operating ADAS.

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/310984-linda-stewart-seeks-to-reduce-windshield-glass-repair-incentives

Senate panel hears of ‘stupefying’ increase in insurance litigation

“No other state has experience a phenomenon remotely like this.”

By Michael Moline on February 4, 2019

Florida isn’t the only state that allows assignment of benefits, or AOB agreements, involving insurance policies.

It is the only state, however, that allows the one-way attorney fee, requiring insurers to cover policyholders’ legal costs in litigation over claims since 2013.

That, an actuary with a National Insurance group says, explains a near doubling of AOB-related lawsuits against carriers in Florida.

“No other state has experienced a phenomenon remotely like this,” James Lynch of the Insurance Information Institute told members of the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee.

He also cited a Florida Justice Reform Institute study that found a more than 100-fold increase in AOB litigation since 2000.

”This is a stupefying increase,” Lynch said.

“I can comfortably say that no other state has experienced a phenomenon remotely like this — either in insurance or anything else,” he said.

That argument was the most compelling to date on whether Florida should reform AOBs and the one-way attorney fee statute, which was intended to even the odds for policyholders taking on deep-pocketed insurance companies, said committee chairman Doug Broxson, a Pensacola Republican.

“We have a dynamic that started in early 2000 with one claim, and now we have 175,000 claims,” he said. “What happened?”

Broxson has introduced legislation (SB 122) restricting one-way attorney fees to named insured and beneficiaries — and not to contractors who proffer AOBs to policyholders in exchange for quick repairs. Critics — including insurance companies, business interests, and conservative organizations, that blame the fee system for escalating litigation and premium increases.

Representatives of such organizations repeated their arguments during Monday’s hearing. Contractors were present, but weren’t able to make their points fully as the meeting ran up against its 6 p.m. adjournment.

Broxson promised they would get their chance when the committee reconvenes in two weeks. But he plans a vote on his bill at that time.

”We’re trying to get all the arguments on the table and let everybody have a fair chance of dealing with this issue,” Broxson said.

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/287419-senate-panel-stupefying-increase

HEADLINES
Newsmakers react to Barbara Lagoa’s Florida Supreme Court appointment

By Staff Reports on January 9, 2019

With Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday appointing appellate judge Barbara Lagoa to fill a vacancy on the state’s Supreme Court, leaders in law, politics and business reacted:

— Attorney General Ashley Moody: “As the first Cuban-American woman to serve on the 3rd District Court of Appeals and the author of more than 300 majority opinions, her elevation is well deserved.

“As a former judge and prosecutor, I know the importance of having well qualified justices who are committed to the rule of law on Florida’s high court. Like Gov. DeSantis, I believe judges should enforce the law as written and intended by our elected lawmakers.

“… Gov. DeSantis has fulfilled one of his most important campaign promises, and he should be applauded for doing so, quickly and purposefully. My office looks forward to appearing in front of the full Florida Supreme Court, including newly selected Justice Lagoa.”

— Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez: “I am excited that the Governor has appointed such an extraordinarily well qualified candidate to the Florida Supreme Court. Justice Barbara Lagoa embodies the work ethic and values of the South Florida community. She will be an outstanding jurist who will uphold our constitution and the rule of law.”

 — Senate President Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican: “I appreciated the Governor’s comments during his inauguration yesterday in which he stressed the proper role of the judiciary, and I am confident today’s appointment of Justice Lagoa is in line with the standards the Governor laid out during his remarks.

“I share the Governor’s concern that in recent years the power of the judicial branch has extended beyond its limited constitutional responsibility, in many cases eroding the authority of the legislative branch. I believe democracy is at its best when each branch of government exercises both authority and restraint at the appropriate time.

“That concept was certainly at the heart of the many of the comments we heard from the Governor yesterday and echoed again this morning with the appointment of Justice Lagoa. I offer my congratulations to Justice Lagoa and wish her well as she begins this exciting new role serving our state on the Florida Supreme Court. I also congratulate Governor DeSantis on his first Supreme Court appointment.”

— House Speaker Jose Oliva, a Miami Lakes Republican: “Justice Barbara Lagoa is eminently qualified to serve the state of Florida on the Supreme Court. Whether it was graduating from Columbia Law School, serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, or as a judge on the 3rd District Court of Appeal, (her) commitment to this country and our Constitution should serve as an example for all Floridians.

“Today, one of Hialeah’s own sits on the Florida Supreme Court. And freedom is more secure because of it.”

 — Maria D. Garcia, President-Elect of the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA): “For the past 12 years, Judge Lagoa has served our community and judiciary as the first Cuban-American woman on the 3rd District Court of Appeal. CABA is very proud of all her accomplishments and her new role in the Florida Supreme Court.

“… As a fellow daughter of Cuban exiles, I am excited that Governor DeSantis made such a wise choice for the Florida Supreme Court. Judge Lagoa has always set a bright example for the legal community and has an impeccable record as a jurist.”

— Florida Family Policy Council President John Stemberger: DeSantis “has made a simply outstanding choice … She is smart, thoughtful, and has a conservative judicial philosophy that appreciates the limited role of the court.

“She is also deeply committed to her faith, her family and her community. In the world of judicial appointments, Barbara Lagoa is a home run. Governor DeSantis should be highly commended for a very thorough vetting process and a commitment to appoint such highly principled Justices as Barbara Lagoa.”

— William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, called Lagoa’s appointment “the first step towards fulfilling his promise to appoint judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.”

His organization, which advocates for tort reform, has “long called for judges who are textualists – who will say what the law is, and not what they think it should be – and who show deference to the legislature as the rightful policymaking branch of government.”

— Tallahassee lawyer Daniel Nordby, who was general counsel to former Gov. Rick Scott, added it was “a home run for Gov. DeSantis. She’s a brilliant and principled judge with a proven track record on the appellate bench. Promise kept.”

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/284997-react-barbara-lagoa-appointment