Florida approves legislation for Non-Binding Arbitration Procedures

Florida lawmakers have approved legislation to amend the state's law on non-binding court arbitration to require an informal process, specify some of the procedures to be followed, and set a numeric threshold for the imposition of attorney's fees and arbitration and court costs on the party requesting a trial de novo. Courts are currently authorized to order parties into non-binding arbitration but the statute does not provide much guidance on how the arbitrations should be conducted - statutory non-binding arbitration is primarily used in medical malpractice and tort cases. The bill would change the statute by including specifics on how a statutory arbitration proceeding would be conducted once a court orders parties into the process. The bill would establish a 25 percent threshold for the imposition of fees and costs on a party who requests a trial de novo. Current law contains no such threshold. It provides that parties who request a trial de novo but do not obtain a more favorable judgment at trial may be assessed court and arbitration costs and attorney's fees. The bill states, “Upon motion made by either party within 30 days after entry of judgment," the court may assess costs, "including arbitration costs, court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and other reasonable costs such as investigation expenses and expenses for expert or other testimony which were incurred after the arbitration hearing and continuing through the trial of the case," on a plaintiff who requested a trial de novo where the judgment at trial is "at least 25 percent less than the arbitration award." Costs may be imposed on a defendant who requested a trial de novo where the judgment against the defendant at trial is at least 25 percent more than the arbitration award. By setting a specific figure for the imposition of costs, a litigant in court-ordered nonbinding arbitration might have a lower risk of being ordered to pay the opponent's fees and costs, the bill summary suggests.