Contingency Fees by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
The Florida Legislature is in full swing with both House and Senate committees meeting with long and sometimes controversial meetings. From an insurance industry perspective, all eyes were on Senate Bill 914 in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee this past Tuesday which passed on a 5 to 3 vote. This one page bill was designed to “level the playing field” to pre-2017 state Supreme Court decision. You will recall in 2017, the Supreme Court’s majority opinion signaled that almost all insurance cases were complicated and thus the plaintiff’s lawyer should be eligible for 2 and 3 times their attorney’s fees, called the “contingency fee multiplier.” This is a different standard than the other 49 states and in fact, the US Supreme Court has held that rare and exceptional cases should be the standard for the fee multiplier. Other tort reform bills are proposed this session, with the House expected to release additional proposals in the coming week or two. You can read more about all these bills in this week’s Bill Watch.
From a personal standpoint, I had lunch with one of the members of the Florida Trucking Association who had their “Day on the Hill.” If you have never been to the Capitol, it is something to see all types of trade associations coming to our Capitol to experience democracy. Trucking companies are no different. This Trucking Association member is from central Florida and I asked him what their number one priority was. His response? To eliminate a contingency fee multiplier since their liability insurance rates are through the roof, with his belief that the reason is the dramatic increase in their payouts in attorney fees.
I also spoke to two other trade groups and asked the same question and got the same answer and same priority – that their members are watching the runaway fees affecting their budgets and their ability to do business in Florida.
I enjoy working with many plaintiff lawyers in the state who do great work for reasonable fees. Hope we can see some changes in law that will make that the norm!
LMA Newsletter of 1-27-20
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