On March 24, 2023, Florida’s sweeping tort reform bill went into effect, addressing a range of substantive rights and procedures. In anticipation, plaintiff-side law firms filed an estimated 100,000 lawsuits in the preceding days. A significant number of these lawsuits are expected to be followed by very short-time policy limits demand letters prior to service of process on defendants/insureds. Defense groups have asked the Florida Supreme Court to issue special rules to avoid defaults in anticipation that the flood of cases will create snafus and require staffing by defense counsel and claim departments. Plaintiff groups oppose such measures and are considering not agreeing to routine courtesies.
Against this backdrop, here are other key things to know:
- The statute of limitations for all negligence causes of action accruing after 3/24/23 was changed from four years to two years;
- Safe harbors and a clearer standard for insurance bad faith claims were enacted, and, the insureds’ and his representative’s conduct are now relevant;
- Efficient options were created for fast-tracking court or arbitration resolution of coverage disputes where a declination of coverage has been issued (and a reservation of rights does not constitute a declination for this purpose);
- Comparative negligence is now hybrid; if a plaintiff is more than 50% responsible, recovery is barred, and in a related provision, judges or juries may consider the liability of bad actors who cause intentional harm in their assessments of liability;
- Fee multipliers are largely eliminated, and one-way attorney’s fees opportunities are greatly restricted;
- Greater transparency about and reasonableness keyed to amounts actually paid or payable by health care coverage, CPT codes, and Medicare/Medicare schedules are mandated as to medical bills and Letters of Protection;
- New protections have been created for certain premises liability defendants who institute enumerated safety precautions; compliance with some is required now, and compliance with others is required by January 1, 2025.
- In addition to substantive changes, the new law addresses procedural issues as well; significant litigation is expected over whether some of the procedural changes will apply retroactively, even if the substantive changes do not.
- Legal challenges to the new law are expected and imminent;
- Different approaches will be required for cases filed before and cases filed after 3/24/23.
Gordon & Rees Florida insurance coverage and defense teams are prepared to assist clients in absorbing and responding to this new law and its ramifications.