April Dahl Reflects on Spike in Case Volume Following Passage of Tort Reform in Florida

Hinshaw partner April Dahl was recently quoted in an article by The Daily Business Review titled, "How South Florida Courts Are Adjusting to 'Tort Reform' Law 6 Months Later." The article looks at how courts in South Florida are adjusting after receiving a spike in case filings before Florida's tort reform law, House Bill 837-Civil Remedies, went into effect.

Dahl said her insurance clients experienced a high case volume prior to the March legal changes. Palm Beach Chief Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley even recounted having 7,000 more cases than average as lawyers scrambled to file before the new bill took effect.

Dahl noted that these lawsuits typically involved the following legal strategy:

"They would file a bare-bones lawsuit, maybe not naming all the defendants, just naming Jane Doe to get something on file, knowing they had 120 days per Florida Statute to serve any party," she said. "They then waited until recently to file an amended complaint to properly name all of the parties and assert causes of actions."

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"How South Florida Courts Are Adjusting to 'Tort Reform' Law 6 Months Later" was published by The Daily Business Review on September 19, 2023.