Florida Senate - 2012                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1860
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 807620                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             03/06/2012 03:44 PM       .                                
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       Senator Richter moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 1235 - 1240
    4  and insert:
    5         (8) APPLICABILITY OF PROVISION REGULATING ATTORNEY
    6  ATTORNEY’S FEES.—With respect to any dispute under the
    7  provisions of ss. 627.730-627.7405 between the insured and the
    8  insurer, or between an assignee of an insured’s rights and the
    9  insurer, the provisions of ss. s. 627.428 and 768.79 shall
   10  apply, except as provided in subsections (10) and (15), and
   11  except that any attorney fees recovered must:
   12         (a) Comply with prevailing professional standards;
   13         (b) Appropriately discount the attorney fees for work
   14  performed, or capable of being performed, by a paralegal or
   15  legal assistant;
   16         (c) Not overstate or inflate the number of hours reasonably
   17  necessary for a case of comparable skill or complexity; and
   18         (d) Be commersurate, and reasonably related to, the amount
   19  recovered by the claimant.
   20  
   21  Upon request by either party, a judge must make written
   22  findings, substantiated by evidence presented at trial or any
   23  hearings associated therewith, that any award of attorney fees
   24  complies with this subsection. Notwithstanding s. 627.428, the
   25  attorney fees recovered under ss. 627.730-627.405 must be
   26  calculated without regard to a contingency risk multiplier.
   27  
   28  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   29         And the title is amended as follows:
   30         Between lines 75 and 76
   31  insert:
   32         providing criteria for the award of attorney fees;
   33         prohibiting the use of a contingency risk multiplier;