Counterpoint: The Truth about HB 837
Recently, Above the Law published an article on how plaintiffs’ lawyers are upset about last week’s passage of HB 837 in Florida. Who can blame them? A state finally passed a law that was fair. In fact, every Florida resident who is not a personal injury plaintiffs’ attorney should be ecstatic about it. Instead, the author of the article said that the legislation turned Florida into a “right-wing paradise,” was a “dream come true” for the insurance industry, and amounted to an “assault” on the law. This is the sort of rhetoric that we need to recognize for what it is: an attempt to stoke fear and cause us to slip into oversimplified worldviews that have become traps for so many Americans. When we read messages like this, an agenda has been betrayed, and it’s time to speak the truth.?
In 2021, attorneys spent over $971 million in advertisements, and the vast majority of that spend was by the plaintiffs’ bar.1 Why are plaintiffs’ lawyers investing like this? To stick up for the little guy? No. On average, claimants only receive 53 percent of the judgments awarded.2 Where is the rest going? The plaintiffs’ bar. And who is really paying? All of us. Compounded with massive verdicts—ones that often exceed $10 million—there is a staggering amount of money involved, and there should be no illusion about the true motivation for plaintiffs’ attorneys.??
The aforementioned Above the Law article seems to be framing the issue of HB 837 as a war with the insurance industry. There is no doubt the massive plaintiffs’ firm referenced in the article is certainly on the attack. Morgan and Morgan alone expected to file 25,000 cases in Florida in response to the legislation’s passing, giving defense firms five days to respond with insurance policy limits, presumably to settle for that maximum limit or face a lawsuit.3 The truth is that this is not a war but rather a balancing of the scales. The reality is the collateral damage of this “war” will be all of us. Anyone who has insurance, consumes products and services, or pays taxes to support our judicial system bears the burden of frivolous lawsuits and unjust verdicts. We all can agree that there are plaintiffs who deserve compensation and that the insurance industry is a business. Nevertheless, the facts show that when insurance companies must pay for nuisance lawsuits or those with massive verdicts and settlements, premiums are going to go up, which means the cost of products and services are going to go up. It was estimated that in 2020, U.S. tort costs equated to $3,621 per household.4??
Civil justice and the rule of law have been under persistent and increasing pressure that tilts the judicial playing field to the benefit of the plaintiffs’ bar and its litigation funders and to the detriment of the civil defense bar and society at large. This has made justice less equitable, products and services more expensive, and prosperity elusive. The developments in Florida, and hopefully soon in other states, are simply a course correction.?
Dean Martinez?
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[1] Christina Marinakis, How to Counteract the Anchoring Effects of a Plaintiff’s Damages Request, The National Law Review (May 5, 2022).
[2] Institute for Legal Reform, Tort Costs in America: An Empirical Analysis of Costs and Compensation of the U.S. Tort System, November 22, 2022, available at https://instituteforlegalreform.com/research/tort-costs-in-america-an-empirical-analysis-of-costs-and-compensation-of-the-u-s-tort-system/.
[4] Institute for Legal Reform, Tort Costs in America: An Empirical Analysis of Costs and Compensation of the U.S. Tort System, November 22, 2022, available at https://instituteforlegalreform.com/research/tort-costs-in-america-an-empirical-analysis-of-costs-and-compensation-of-the-u-s-tort-system/.