Florida’s Voice – Florida Justice Reform Institute

Second District Court asked to lift judge’s block on Florida property insurance arbitrations

October 27, 2025/in Florida's Voice

By Brendon Leslie
Published Oct. 27, 2025, 1:44 p.m. ET | Updated Oct. 27, 2025

Homes in Miami Beach, Fla., June 14, 2021. (Photo/Chris Norberg, Unsplash)

TAMPA, Fla. – Attorneys representing the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, or DOAH, have asked the Second District Court of Appeal to lift a judge’s order that is halting hundreds of property insurance arbitrations across Florida.

The halted cases involve policyholders with Citizens Property Insurance, which is using a new law designed to speed up claims and help lower insurance costs.

Attorney Jason Gonzalez of Lawson Huck Gonzalez, who is representing DOAH in the filing, highlighted the impact the order has on policyholders.

“The trial court’s injunction order is particularly troubling because it violates contractual and statutory rights of our client and many others who were not parties to the case and had no opportunity to be heard and defend their rights,” Gonzalez said.

William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute said Floridians are paying the price for the delay.

“Citizens wants to arbitrate claims and pay its policyholders under a new law designed to streamline the claims process and lower insurance premiums, but a single judge exceeded her jurisdiction and it’s causing unfortunate delays and expense for Floridians,” Large said.

DOAH, the state agency responsible for conducting arbitrations for Citizens policyholders, filed a petition in the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland. The petition seeks to prevent the trial court judge from overstepping her jurisdiction.

The filing argues that the injunction was flawed for several reasons including:

• The judge blocked arbitrations without notifying DOAH or Citizens, which violates basic legal rules.

• The judge did not include key parties in the case, like DOAH and the 390 policyholders, making the order legally questionable.

• The judge ignored the requirement to notify the Florida Attorney General of a constitutional challenge.

DOAH says these mistakes are disrupting a state program meant to quickly handle insurance claims and keep costs down for Floridians.

The Second District Court of Appeal can either ask the judge to explain her decision or act quickly to restore the arbitration process.

If the injunction is lifted, Citizens can continue processing claims under the law, reducing delays for homeowners and policyholders across the state.

https://flvoicenews.com/second-district-court-asked-to-lift-judges-block-on-florida-property-insurance-arbitrations/

With veto pen, Gov. Ron DeSantis defends Florida’s health care system

June 16, 2025/in Florida's Voice

Opinion

By William Large
Published Jun. 16, 2025, 9:21 a.m. ET | Updated Jun. 16, 2025

Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers 2025 State of the State Address, Tallahassee, Fla., March 4, 2025. (Official photo)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has made great progress in reforming laws to reverse the growing trend of excessive litigation and bring balance to a tumultuous marketplace. House Bill 6017 is a step in the wrong direction.

HB 6017 would expand the number of individuals eligible to recover noneconomic damages in wrongful death cases based on claims of medical malpractice.

While this legislation was proposed with good intent, it comes at too great a cost. Without capping noneconomic damages, the expansion of eligible claimants will lead to more medical malpractice lawsuits filed and higher damages payouts, which will in turn lead to increased costs and limited access for health care.

Florida is already in the midst of a health care crisis. Medical malpractice verdicts are already high, in eye-popping amounts like $208M, often driven by large noneconomic damage amounts.

Not only are verdicts breaking records, but the already high volume of liability lawsuits is increasing in severity. A key finding of a recent benchmark study conducted by Aon and the American Society for Health Care Risk Management determined that the indemnity and defense costs associated with each medical liability lawsuit is steadily increasing.

When a hospital or provider is forced to pay excessive claims, they have to make up that cost elsewhere, such as in higher costs for care. Ultimately, the average patient foots the bill.

Faced with these and other pressures, many doctors are choosing to retire or leave the state of Florida in search of more affordable alternatives.

The Florida Department of Health reported in 2023 that more than 21% of surveyed obstetrician gynecologists (OB/GYNs) in Florida plan to discontinue obstetric care within two years, and one common explanation was liability exposure.

This staggering statistic comes at a time when Florida’s population continues to grow and demand for obstetricians is on the rise. While OB/GYN is just one specialty among health care providers, it’s a demonstrative symbol of the impact medical malpractice litigation has on access to care.

With fewer providers, patients will wait longer to see a doctor, pay more for health care services and experience deteriorated outcomes.

In short, HB 6017 would exacerbate Florida’s health care crisis by driving doctors out of our state, limiting patient access to care and increasing the cost of care.

It goes without saying that having affordable access to health care is of paramount importance. While medical malpractice reform is needed, HB 6017 proposes only to expand liability without any safeguards to ensure that Florida’s health care system and residents do not suffer as a result.

Thankfully, DeSantis vetoed HB 6017 before it could inflict harm. Now, we have the opportunity to continue the positive trends we’ve made in reforming Florida’s litigation laws and stabilizing markets, while improving choice and bringing down costs for consumers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, thank you for prioritizing quality, accessible and affordable health care.

William Large is the president of Florida Justice Reform Institute, a statewide organization committed to restoring fairness and personal responsibility to Florida’s civil justice system.

https://flvoicenews.com/with-veto-pen-gov-ron-desantis-defends-floridas-health-care-system/

Florida Justice Reform Institute president voices opposition to medical malpractice bill

March 6, 2025/in Florida's Voice

By Amber Jo Cooper
Published Mar. 6, 2025, 4:08 p.m. ET | Updated Mar. 6, 2025

(Official photo)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – President of Florida Justice Reform Institute William Large voiced opposition to efforts to reform Florida’s medical malpractice laws, suggesting that doing so would significantly raise the costs of medical services.

SB 734 expands the application of the Florida Wrongful Death Act by “repealing exceptions that prohibit certain parents and children of a deceased patient who dies due to medical negligence
from recovering noneconomic damages,” the bill’s analysis said.

Speaking on Florida’s Voice Radio with Drew Steele, Large said if the bill passes, he predicts a rise in medical malpractice lawsuits, particularly affecting elderly patients and their adult children, which could lead to an additional 500 cases annually.

WATCH: President of Florida Justice Reform Institute voices opposition to efforts at reforming Florida’s medical malpractice laws, suggesting that doing so would significantly raise the costs of medical services pic.twitter.com/Z6rQJJ41Ci

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 6, 2025
Large, an attorney, is an advocate for legal reform and previously led former Gov. Jeb Bush’s “fight to reform medical malpractice rules to cap damage awards,” according to the FJRI website.

Senate Rules Chair Kathleen Passidomo and Sen. Tom Leek were the only two who opposed the measure during a committee stop Wednesday, and the House bill’s Wednesday committee stop received full support.

“If our goal is to raise the standard of care in our state, we should hold the wrongdoers accountable,” Passidomo said. “I will not be able to support this bill today because it does not hold bad medical personnel accountable.”

The bill has two committee stops to go in the Senate and one committee stop in the House before they could reach a full vote by the legislature.

https://flvoicenews.com/florida-justice-reform-institute-president-voices-opposition-to-medical-malpractice-bill/

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