Salmon & Salmon, P.A. is thrilled to report Circuit Court Judge Dennis Craig in Volusia County, Florida just entered an Order denying Plaintiff’s Motion for Entitlement to Attorney’s Fees. This is a tremendous victory for Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company.
The underlying claim arose from a windstorm in 2022. Judge Craig ruled that Florida Statute section 627.428 was repealed on March 24, 2023. Therefore, no entitlement to fees exists since entitlement to fees does not vest until a final judgment or decree exists. The judgment can be located here.
There is simply no bigger issue in terms of revenue facing Florida insurers. If 627.428 was repealed, all the attorney fee payments by Florida insurers to plaintiff lawyers since then has been voluntary. Kimberly Salmon performed over one-hundred of hours of research on this issue after the statute’s repeal after the legislative session. Mrs. Salmon’s original article can be located here.
David Salmon then prepared an article a couple of months later regarding the legislature’s proper use of a Savings Clause, which the legislature did not use in relation to the repeal of Florida Statute section 627.428. That article can be located here.
This saga will likely continue through the appellate courts. This is a major victory for all stakeholders!