Trucking news and briefs for Monday, March 27, 2023:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill into law to reform the civil litigation system in the state.
Among other provisions, the new law increases transparency in civil proceedings by curtailing the ability of plaintiffs’ attorneys to introduce fictitious and inflated medical bills at trial.
According to the American Trucking Associations, phantom damages are one of numerous tactics “used by the plaintiffs’ bar to create a pervasive climate of lawsuit abuse that has sent insurance rates soaring to unsustainable levels.”
“We mean what we said about lawsuit abuse – enough is enough,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “When the plaintiffs’ bar perverts civil litigation into a profit center to line their pockets, the costs are borne by everyone – not just trucking companies, but consumers too in the form of higher insurance rates and higher prices for everyday goods.”
Florida follows a growing number of states who have enacted other and similar lawsuit abuse reforms, including Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia, ATA said.
“It is a historic day in Florida,” said Alix Miller, President and CEO of Florida Trucking Association. “For decades, the trucking industry has been driven out of business because unscrupulous attorneys were allowed to take advantage of an unfair judicial system. With the signing of this legislation into law, Florida is taking a major step in shutting down billboard lawyers and strengthening our supply chain and economy.”
