While the focus of news coverage has been on personal injury claims, the new law, effective today, impacts attorneys’ fee awards in actions involving payment and performance bonds for construction projects and statutes of limitation for negligence claims.
Statutes of Limitations.
The statute changes the statute of limitations applicable to claims founded on negligence from four years to two years. Now before getting into that, it bears mentioning that Florida has a separate, 4-year statute of limitations, that applies to actions founded on design, planning, or construction of an improvement to real property. But to the extent someone wants to bring a pure negligence claim against a contract, the time to do so was just cut in half. One example of this could include job site injuries claims (to the extent not addressed by worker’s comp). It also raises the question of where the line between an action founded on design, planning, or construction and negligence will be drawn by courts. For example, this distinction would be critical for when the statute of limitations expires for a claim for negligent hiring of a subcontractor.
Notably, this revision does not apply to claims that accrued in advance of the effective date of the new law. Meaning, if someone was injured due to negligence a week ago, that person likely still has 4 years to bring their claim, instead of 2.
Bonds for Construction Contracts and Attorneys’ Fees.
Section 627.756(1), Florida Statutes, was updated to no longer rely on Section 627.428 to govern the award of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing party against a surety. Under the new language, listed below, owners, contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and materialmen are entitled to a reasonable attorneys’ fee award:
(1) In a suit brought by an owner, a contractor, a subcontractor, a laborer, or a materialman against a surety insurer under payment or performance bonds written by the insurer under the laws of this state to indemnify against pecuniary loss by breach of a building or construction contract, upon the rendition of a judgment or decree by any of the courts of this state against the surety insurer and in favor of the owner, contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or materialman, the trial court or, in the event of an appeal in which the owner, contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or materialman prevails, the appellate court, shall adjudge or decree against the surety insurer and in favor of the owner, contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or materialman a reasonable sum as fees or compensation for the attorney prosecuting the suit in which the recovery is had.
These changes took effect today, when the statute was signed into law. You can click here to view a full copy of the new statute.