1st DCA Declares Statutory Restrictions on Attorney Fees Unconstitutional

A panel from Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal on Wednesday declared the state's statutory limits on the compensation of claimants' attorneys unconstitutional, as applied to an injured police officer who was willing to pay an hourly fee to her counsel. To the extent that Florida Statutes Sections 440.105(3)(c) and 440.34 limit a worker's ability to retain counsel under a contract that provides for the payment of a reasonable fee for the attorney's services, the court said, the statutes violate the worker's constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech, freedom ...