CS/HB 1351

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to court-ordered nonbinding arbitration;
3	amending s. 44.103, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
4	presentation of testimony and evidence in court-ordered,
5	nonbinding arbitration proceedings; revising provisions
6	relating to award of specified costs of a trial de novo
7	following arbitration against the party requesting the
8	trial when the trial judgment differs from the arbitration
9	award by a certain amount; providing an effective date.
10
11	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13	Section 1.  Subsections (4) and (6) of section 44.103,
14	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15	44.103  Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration.--
16	(4)  An arbitrator or, in the case of a panel, the chief
17	arbitrator, shall have such power to administer oaths or
18	affirmation and to conduct the proceedings as the rules of court
19	shall provide. The hearing  shall be conducted informally.
20	Presentation of testimony and evidence shall be kept to a
21	minimum, and matters shall be presented to the arbitrators
22	primarily through the statements and arguments of counsel. At
23	the request of Any party to the arbitration may petition the
24	court in the underlying action, for good cause shown, to
25	authorize the, such arbitrator to shall issue subpoenas for the
26	attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records,
27	documents, and other evidence at the arbitration and may
28	petition apply to the court for orders compelling such
29	attendance and production at the arbitration. Subpoenas shall be
30	served and shall be enforceable in the manner provided by law.
31	(6)  Upon motion made by either party within 30 days after
32	entry of a judgment, the court may assess costs against the
33	party requesting a trial de novo, including arbitration costs,
34	court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and other reasonable
35	costs such as investigation expenses and expenses for expert or
36	other testimony that were incurred after the arbitration hearing
37	and continuing through the trial of the case in accordance with
38	the guidelines for taxation of costs as adopted by the Supreme
39	Court. Such costs may be assessed if:
40	(a)  The plaintiff, having filed for a trial de novo,
41	obtains a judgment at trial that is at least 25 percent less
42	than the arbitration award. In such instance, the costs and
43	attorney's fees pursuant to this section shall be set off
44	against the award. When the costs and attorney's fees pursuant
45	to this section total more than the amount of the judgment, the
46	court shall enter judgment for the defendant against the
47	plaintiff for the amount of the costs and attorney's fees, less
48	the amount of the award to the plaintiff. For purposes of a
49	determination under this paragraph, "judgment" means the amount
50	of the net judgment entered, plus all taxable costs under the
51	guidelines for taxation of costs adopted by the Supreme Court,
52	plus any post-arbitration collateral source payments received or
53	due as of the date of the judgment, and plus any post-
54	arbitration settlement amounts by which the verdict was reduced;
55	or
56	(b)  The defendant, having filed for a trial de novo, has a
57	judgment entered against the defendant that is at least 25
58	percent more than the arbitration award. For purposes of a
59	determination under this paragraph, "judgment" means the amount
60	of the net judgment entered, plus any post-arbitration
61	settlement amounts by which the verdict was reduced. The party
62	having filed for a trial de novo may be assessed the arbitration
63	costs, court costs, and other reasonable costs of the party,
64	including attorney's fees, investigation expenses, and expenses
65	for expert or other testimony or evidence incurred after the
66	arbitration hearing if the judgment upon the trial de novo is
67	not more favorable than the arbitration decision.
68	Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.