While it is still unclear how many storm damage lawsuits were filed across the state ahead of Friday's enactment of HB837, supporters of the major tort reform bill say the state can now begin reversing the damage done by the trial lawyer industry.
"I have heard many reports about a flood of lawsuits since the passage of HB 837 first appeared imminent," said Bill Herrle, executive director of Florida's National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). "I can’t verify these numbers, but I would expect many trial lawyers to rush cases forward before the law took effect because the bill is focused on reducing the profitability of lawsuits for the plaintiffs’ lawyer, not blocking access to justice."
Morgan and Morgan, the state’s single biggest storm damage law firm whose caseload represents approximately 30 percent of the state's total, communicated that it expected to file 25,000 claims statewide.
Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson said the filing of "last-minute" lawsuits will do nothing except clog up the state's judicial system and "allow trial lawyers to take advantage of our bottom-five legal climate one last time."
"These filings will not change the purpose of the bill. All the trial lawyer tactics are going to do is put our court system in a state of emergency,” Wilson said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the comprehensive legal reform legislation on Friday.
"Obviously, the plaintiffs' lawyers have not been effective in stopping the bill," Herrle told the Florida Record. "I don't think it was an orchestrated strategy. They are doing what they do: looking to maximize their attorneys’ fees. If a short-term glut of cases is the price to be paid for reducing the threat of lawsuits on small business owners moving forward, then I’m ok with that."
The law eliminates attorney-fee multipliers in most cases, shortens the statute of limitation in which negligence lawsuits may be filed, tightens standards for determining medical expenses in certain civil actions, limits one-way attorney-fee provisions in insurance claims litigation, and makes it more difficult to prove an insurer acted in bad faith.
An internal email from a plaintiff's firm, obtained by the Florida Record, suggests a retaliatory legal strategy in dealing with the new law.
"Under no circumstances will we be agreeing to any continuances, discovery extensions, or request to extend deadline to answer complaints," states the March 24 message to "PI attorneys across the country."
"Red line rules," it states.
"It will be a serious internal offense if we find any courtesies being extended to the insurance industry.
"We may want to help the human being defense attorney because we know them and maybe like them, but we will not because they work for an enemy who is heartless and ruthless.
"The enemy who just tried to kill us in FL."
Wilson, however, said that HB 837 is a "big win" for Florida consumers and local businesses.
"...The personal injury trial lawyer tactics of suing and clogging up the courts is disappointing but not unexpected, given their track record of injustice,” Wilson told the Florida Record.
In response to the anticipated deluge of lawsuits by personal injury trial lawyers, the Florida Chamber, through its Litigation & Regulatory Reform Center, has launched a defense fund to prevent consumers and local businesses from getting mired in lengthy courtroom battles. Former Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson is leading the defense fund.
"The long-overdue dam of frivolous litigation earnings is beginning to close,” Wilson added. “These last-minute filings also highlight the fact that HB 837 is particularly impactful and much needed. The personal injury lawyer industry has habitually used the courts to undo the work and intent of the legislature and the citizens of Florida those elected officials represent.”