CSK Marches on the Hill to Stop Reversal of Tort Reform Efforts

For the second time in as many weeks Miami Partner, Stephen M. Rosansky and Cole, Scott & Kissane have been called to offer testimony before the Florida House of Representatives opposing two advanced bills which threaten the progress that the Legislature has made in recent years to improve the civil justice system.  

Multiple bills were heard in Florida House committees on March 20, 2025, and March 27, 2025, advancing legislation that would dissolve recent tort reforms, incentivize Florida attorneys to file more lawsuits and increase costs on Florida families. “This is a complete 180 from the Florida Legislature that passed thoughtful measures to stabilize our insurance market and reduce costs on consumers while preserving the path to justice for those who were wronged,” said William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute. “The proposals that advanced in the Florida House today will promote excessive litigation and exorbitant fees, harming Florida families."

In House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee, two measures were heard that would reverse the progress Florida has made to implement meaningful tort reforms.  House Bill 1437, Attorney Fees and Costs for Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Benefits, was also heard on March 20, 2025, in the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee. This bill would reinstate one-way attorney fees, inviting trial attorneys to file more baseless litigation at no cost to them. The flood of excessive litigation would lead to higher premiums and greater financial burdens for every Floridian who drives a car. This legislation would undo successful reform of the industry made in 2023 through HB 837. "Since the passage of HB 837, we've seen a drastic reduction in the filing of lawsuits and the longevity of those lawsuits," said Stephen M. Rosansky, partner at Cole, Scott & Kissane and advocate for the Florida Justice Reform Institute. "A reversal of this course will add water back into the swamp and we will see the festering of what happened to the enactment of this bill."

House Bill 1181, heard on March 27, 2025, would abolish PIP and instead require bodily injury liability and property damage coverage in lieu of mandatory No-Fault coverage. Since it was enacted, Florida’s PIP law has been plagued by fraud and excessive litigation over low-dollar-value claims. Often these lawsuits were filed for the simple reason that, under Florida law, successful plaintiffs in insurance lawsuits were entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees under the One-Way Attorney Fees Statute. In 2023, Governor DeSantis signed HB 837 and repealed the One-Way Attorney Fees Statute. This eliminated the incentive to litigate low dollar claims in the hopes of recovering outsized attorneys’ fees. HB 837 took effect in March 2023, and the impacts of the reforms that were passed in that legislation are still being realized. Abolishing PIP now threatens to increase the number of automobile liability and uninsured motorist claims and the exposure attending those claims. Once PIP is gone, there will no longer be a permanent injury threshold. In other words, in a bodily injury system, suit and recovery of noneconomic damages would be permitted for any injury, no matter how small.

Stephen Rosansky again urged the House Subcommittee to take heed before repealing Florida’s PIP law and to look to the recent statutory and judicial reforms which should be given sufficient time to work and to reduce PIP litigation and costs. Then, after five years of data on PIP litigation and benefit payment costs is accumulated, the Florida Legislature will be in a better position to decide whether repealing PIP is a necessary next step.

The foregoing is in “lock step” with statements made earlier this month, during his State of the State Address in a joint session of the Florida Legislature, where Governor Ron DeSantis praised the reforms that were passed in recent years, pointing to evidence of market stabilization, greater choice and lower costs. "The Legislature has enacted historic reforms that have improved economic conditions and addressed difficult issues like insurance. Because of these reforms, automobile insurance rates are finally coming down... and our homeowners’ insurance market is seeing stability." Yet the measures advancing through House committees this month would reverse all the progress made in recent years. Cole, Scott & Kissane is championing the efforts of Governor DeSantis and likeminded Representatives to reduce fraud and the meritless litigation which costs everyone in the State of Florida so dearly.