TALLAHASSEE - A state insurance group said that reforms Gov. Ron DeSantis supports with respect to the civil justice system should have a positive impact on Floridians.
“Generally speaking, Gov. DeSantis is appointing more conservative, pro-business judges and that alone should have a longlasting, positive impact on reducing frivolous litigation,” said Jeff Grady, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.
DeSantis has appointed 66 people to sit on panels that nominate candidates for future vacancies on the high court, as well as five intermediate appellate courts.
“The most impactful change Gov. DeSantis has made on civil litigation reform is the appointment of three new Florida Supreme Court justices,” Grady said.
The new state high court justices are Carlos Genaro Muñiz, a former aide to former Gov. Jeb Bush and state Attorney General Pam Bondi and general counsel to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck, both former federal prosecutors who served on the Third District Court of Appeal.
“Almost immediately afterward, the new Supreme Court reversed the previous court’s decision and implemented the Daubert standard for expert witnesses, thereby following the will of the Republican-led legislature,” Grady said. The Daubert standard applied in civil litigation requires stricter requirements for experts.