Florida Senate - 2011                             CS for SB 1694
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Richter
       
       
       
       
       597-04388-11                                          20111694c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to motor vehicle personal injury
    3         protection insurance; amending s. 627.736, F.S.;
    4         limiting attorney’s fees based on the disputed amount;
    5         limiting attorney’s fees in class actions; providing
    6         that attorney’s fees are calculated without regard to
    7         a contingency risk multiplier; providing an effective
    8         date.
    9  
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 627.736, Florida
   13  Statutes, is amended, and subsections (17) and (18) are added to
   14  that section, to read:
   15         627.736 Required personal injury protection benefits;
   16  exclusions; priority; claims.—
   17         (8) APPLICABILITY OF PROVISION REGULATING ATTORNEY’S FEES.
   18  With respect to any dispute under the provisions of ss. 627.730
   19  627.7405 between the insured and the insurer, or between an
   20  assignee of an insured’s rights and the insurer, the provisions
   21  of s. 627.428 shall apply, except as provided in subsections
   22  (10) and (15), and except that any attorney’s fees recovered are
   23  limited to the lesser of $200 per billable hour or:.
   24         (a) For a disputed amount less than $500, 15 times the
   25  disputed amount recovered by the attorney under ss. 627.730
   26  627.7407, up to a total of $5,000.
   27         (b) For a disputed amount of $500 or more and less than
   28  $5,000, 10 times the disputed amount recovered by the attorney
   29  under ss. 627.730-627.7407, up to a total of $10,000.
   30         (c) For a disputed amount of $5,000 or more and up to
   31  $10,000, five times the disputed amount recovered by the
   32  attorney under ss. 627.730-627.7407, up to a total of $15,000.
   33         (17) CLASS ACTIONS.—Attorney’s fees in a class action under
   34  ss. 627.730-627.7407 are limited to the lesser of $50,000 or
   35  three times the total of the disputed amount recovered in the
   36  class action proceeding.
   37         (18) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Notwithstanding s. 627.428, the
   38  attorney’s fees recovered under ss. 627.730-627.7407 shall be
   39  calculated without regard to any contingency risk multiplier.
   40         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.