Florida's so-called "Bad Faith Statute," Section 624.155, was amended by the 2023 Florida Legislature. (The Florida Legislature has not adjourned as of this writing and a special session is always possible in the future, so be prepared accordingly.)
At the present time, there is a real question as to the effective dates of amendments to Section 624.155 and of amendments to other statutes and of the enactment of still more Florida statutes. The session law in which all these new provisions were enacted is 2023 Fla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 2023-15, § 4 (C.S.C.S.H.B. 837) (West). [Caution: This link may not be secure. You may choose to view the Westlaw version online, or the print version instead.] Two savings clauses in this 2023 Session Law appear significant to the question of when these provisions are supposed to take effect.
One is concerned with rights under an insurance contract, id. § 29 (savings clause as to "right[s] under an insurance contract," stated not to be construed to "impair" any such rights in effect on or before March 24, 2023, the effective date of this act and the date this act became a law; act stated applicable respecting such rights "under an insurance contract … issued or renewed after the effective date of this act.").
A second savings clause addresses the filing date of "causes of action," providing in full that "[e]xcept as otherwise expressly provided in this act, this act shall apply to causes of action filed after the effective date of this act." Id. § 30.
These issues are open at this time. Without constitutional adjustment by the Florida Legislature, courts, counsel and clients will have to address these issues in future cases.
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