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FLORIDA RECORD

Monday, March 18, 2024

Our View: This group undermines the appeal of Florida

Our View

A whole lot of money and effort go into promoting Florida as a place to live and make a living, and as a vacation destination. It's not a hard case to make. Our natural and man-made attractions are the envy of other states. Our climate, our beaches, our seafood are all unparalleled. Plus, we've got Disney World, Universal Studios, Daytona, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Key West, the Everglades, etc.

There's not enough space here to list everything Florida has to offer.

The wonder is why anyone wouldn't want to live and work here, or visit as often as possible. Florida's public and private boosters have an easy job. The hard task would be trying to make Florida seem unappealing.

Nevertheless, the effort is being made – by our state's most self-centered and self-serving plaintiffs attorneys, and their judicial and legislative allies.

They're doing everything they can to turn our sunshine state into a rainy one, attempting to transform Florida into a safe space for the frivolous lawsuits that enrich them but impoverish everyone else by sucking the success out of successful businesses whose products and services make life better for everyone else.

“The Sunshine State is characterized by a state high court that continually expands the liability exposure of those who live and do business there,” says the latest report from the American Tort Reform Foundation, which ranks Florida in third place on its annual Judicial Hellhole list. “That trend continued in 2015 with three more rulings impacting property owners, manufacturers and retailers, and insurers.”

The report notes that “plaintiffs’ lawyers and others game the system to bring unwarranted lawsuits against insurers, raising the price of insurance for all Florida residents.”

According to ATRF, “Even when the state legislature, which is heavily influenced by trial lawyers, manages to enact reforms, the state’s high court nullifies them in favor of boundless liability in the Sunshine State.”

With all the money spent to promote Florida, why do we tolerate this anti-boosterism?

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