ARTICLE
Today, the Florida Senate passed HB 837 by a bipartisan 23 to 15 vote, a comprehensive and meaningful lawsuit abuse reform package fought for by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Governor Ron DeSantis has described the bill, which now heads to him for his signature, as the most significant legal reform in modern history – and he’s right.
A lack of fairness and certainty in Florida’s judicial system has led to Florida having one of the worst legal climates in the United States. According to a recent national study, Florida’s legal climate results in $50 billion in spending each year on litigation – 3.63 percent of state GDP – which is more than any other state in the nation. This, coupled with the fact that every Florida family pays an additional $5,065 in lawsuit abuse taxes, shows how Florida is an outlier in the amount of wealth transferred to attorneys through our broken legal system – money that would be better spent investing in everyday family expenses, expanding businesses or in their local communities. This meaningful and comprehensive bill will go a long way in improving Florida’s bottom-five lawsuit abuse climate and set us on the path to reaching our Florida 2030 Blueprint goal of being one of the top 12 civil justice systems in the country.
This historic legislation would not have been possible without the vision and leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Speaker of the House Paul Renner, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and bill sponsors Representatives Tommy Gregory and Tom Fabricio and Senator Travis Hutson who put the interests of Floridians above billboard trial attorneys. We also want to thank our members that have traveled to Tallahassee to testify, recorded videos telling their story, assisted in our radio and digital ad campaigns, and wrote or called their legislators – not just this session, but for the years, if not decades, the Florida Chamber has advocated for a rebalancing of our civil justice system on behalf of all of you. Today’s passage is the result of a united business community working together to advance this historic piece of legislation.
Unfortunately, personal injury lawyers have habitually used the courts to undo the work of the legislature and the citizens of Florida those elected officials represent. This is evidenced by legal challenges to several of the most impactful recent legal reforms in Florida - from workers’ comp attorney fee reform to medical malpractice to the repeal of joint and several liability and others – which all faced legal delays upon being signed into law. The Florida Chamber is anticipating this backlash, and through our Litigation & Regulatory Reform Center, has secured exemplary legal counsel and launched a defense fund to raise the capital needed to ensure consumers and local businesses can benefit from this historic legislation. More information will be forthcoming on that effort, but rest assured that your Chamber team remains committed to stomping out any lawsuit abuse holding back Florida’s growth towards becoming a top-10 global economy or any attempts to peel back this reform and the benefit it will undoubtedly offer our local businesses, economy and state.