TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) today issued the following statement, attributed to its vice president of state government relations Logan McFaddin, regarding the Florida Legislature’s passing and Governor DeSantis’ signing of House Bill 837.
“With the passing and signing of House Bill 837, Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature continue to demonstrate tremendous leadership in addressing widespread legal system abuse and frivolous lawsuits that line the pockets of billboard lawyers at the expense of Floridians. APCIA appreciates the hard work of Governor DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, House Speaker Paul Renner, Senator Travis Hutson, Representative Tommy Gregory, and Representative Tom Fabricio in working with many stakeholders to develop an excellent bill that puts Floridians first.
“Legal system abuse costs Florida households more than $5,000 annually, according to the American Tort Reform Foundation’s Judicial Hellhole report. House Bill 837 will help put an end to this ‘tort tax’ on Florida families.
“By eliminating one-way attorney fees and fee multipliers for all lines of insurance, modernizing Florida’s bad faith law, and protecting small businesses from paying exorbitant damages, the reforms enacted will help restore fairness to Florida’s legal system, reduce the excessive number of frivolous lawsuits being filed, and ultimately help benefit consumers by increasing the availability and affordability of insurance over time.”