Florida Arbitration Bill signed into Law

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) has signed into law legislation designed to streamline the state's court-ordered non-binding arbitration system by requiring an informal process and limiting the issuance of subpoenas to instances where a party can show "good cause" for them. The new law specifies some of the procedures to be followed in the arbitration system, and sets a numeric threshold for the imposition of attorney's fees and arbitration and court costs on the party requesting a trial de novo. The law includes specifics on how a statutory arbitration proceeding would be conducted once a court orders parties into the process. The new law also provides that when a defendant's fees can be imposed on a plaintiff under the 25 percent rule and those fees total more than the judgment at the trial de novo "the court shall enter judgment for the defendant against the plaintiff for the amount of the costs and attorney's fees, less the amount of the award to the plaintiff." The bill will come into effect on Oct. 1, 2007.