Lawyers who bring frivolous claims 'really have become almost professional thugs for the business person'
NFIB State Executive Director Bill Herrle released the following statement today in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s call for lawmakers to pass legal reforms during this year’s session of the Florida Legislature:
“We were pleased to hear Governor DeSantis address the need for tort reform during this morning’s news conference in Jacksonville. Small businesses aren’t sitting on piles of cash and don’t have teams of attorneys on standby. One frivolous claim brought by a trial attorney can be enough to put a small business out of business, even if the case is eventually thrown out of court.
“Our small business members are urging their legislators to stop predatory practices such as third-party litigation financing and jury awards that are based on inflated and even fictional medical costs,” Herrle said.
“We also are asking legislators to build on Senate Bill 2A, which passed in December and brought commonsense reform to Florida’s property tax system,” Herrle said. “Before SB 2A passed, Florida represented nearly 80 percent of all homeowners’ litigation over claims filed. While commercial property insurance doesn’t face the same onslaught of litigation, SB 2A will protect businesses from becoming the trial lawyers’ next target.”
Michelle Smith, president of Source 1 Specialty Services in Winter Springs and a member of the NFIB Florida Leadership Council, spoke at the governor’s news conference. She said legal fees can ruin a small business. “These are expenses that cascade into all of the other areas of your operation. It’s money that is taken or not available for payroll, for advertising, for marketing, for raises, for expanding your business,” Smith said. If a business does go broke defending itself against a frivolous claim, the plaintiff’s attorneys will still get paid. “They really have become almost professional thugs for the business person,” she said.
