Partner of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig: HB 1551 undoes 'the reforms that were already put into place'

House Bill 1551, currently under consideration in the Florida Legislature, has sparked debate over its potential impact on the state's insurance market. Matt Lavitsky, a partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, expressed concerns during a legislative hearing that the bill "reverses key legal reforms and reinstates problematic attorney fee practices."

"This isn't about pendulum swinging back to balance… this undoes completely the reforms that were already put into place," said Matt Levitsky, Representative. "The insured in that case got $16,000. The lawyers got hundreds of thousands of dollars. House Bill 1551 undoes those reforms. It is no different than what the law was before. This doesn't bring us back to equilibrium. It brings us all the way back to where we were."

According to Florida Politics, HB 1551 proposes reinstating attorney fee awards for prevailing parties in insurance disputes. This move would reverse reforms enacted in 2022 and 2023 aimed at curbing litigation abuse and stabilizing Florida's property insurance market. The bill could lead to increased litigation and higher insurance premiums, potentially undermining progress made by previous reforms.

Floir reported that before the 2022 reforms, Florida's insurance market experienced a high volume of litigation, with attorney fees constituting a significant portion of insurance payouts. In 2022, although Florida accounted for only 14.9% of nationwide homeowners insurance claims, it was responsible for 70.9% of the nation’s litigation related to those claims. The legislative reforms introduced in 2022 sought to address this imbalance by eliminating the one-way attorney fee provision, contributing to a more stable insurance market and attracting new insurers to the state.

As noted by Florida Jolt, HB 1551 aims to reintroduce the one-way attorney fee system. Opponents argue that this could incentivize frivolous lawsuits and increase litigation costs, prioritizing trial attorneys' interests over consumers' and potentially reversing positive trends achieved through recent reforms.

Lavitsky is a partner at Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP, specializing in insurance defense with a focus on property insurance litigation and bad faith claims. He has extensive experience representing insurers in complex coverage disputes across Florida and other states. Lavitsky earned his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and served as a law clerk for Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal.