Supreme Court Says Attorney Fee Statute Is Unconstitutional

A divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state's mandatory fee schedule as unconstitutional, but the court passed on a chance to decide if the comp system itself is a constitutionally adequate substitute for a tort remedy. In its long-awaited ruling in Castellanos v. Next Door, the court found Florida Statutes Section 440.34 did not comport with due process because it creates an "irrebuttable statutory presumption" that a fee calculated in accordance with its provisions is "reasonable," even when such fee is "clearly inadequate" to compensa...