Employers Hope New Justices Will Mean New Caps on Lawyer Fees

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 | 1

The appointment of two new Supreme Court justices and a third to come has given new hope to insurers and employers that Florida lawmakers will revisit the idea of limits on attorney fees in workers' compensation cases.

Justice Barbara Lagoa

Newly elected Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed the justices this week after three former Supreme Court judges had to step down because they reached statutory retirement age. DeSantis named state Appeals Court Judges Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa to the bench, and both have drawn praise from conservative groups, according to news reports.

That could mean that if the 2019 Legislature reinstates the attorney fee caps that were struck down by the court three years ago, the new law may survive judicial review if it goes that far, business groups say.

“It has emboldened the Legislature and put some starch in their shorts,” Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida, told the News Service of Florida this week.

Florida's new Senate president, Sen. Bill Galvano, also has signaled his willingness to consider changes to workers' compensation laws.  

Since the 2016 Supreme Court ruling in Castellanos v. Next Door Co. declared fee limits unconstitutional, business groups have feared that unfettered legal costs would drive up premiums. But Florida has had double-digit rate decreases for the past two years, which took some of the urgency out of the cause.

Both new justices are from the 3rd District Court of Appeals in south Florida.