Florida lawmakers botch a chance to curb foreign influence in civil justice system
What if I told you that foreign countries are playing a financial role in investing in litigation moving through Florida’s courtrooms? I’m sure if you knew of this troubling practice, you would want the Florida Legislature to take meaningful steps to regulate it.
This year, the Florida Legislature had an opportunity to bring transparency to this practice. But our lawmakers didn’t take it, and instead chose to leave our state vulnerable to foreign interference and influence.
Through funding litigation against certain industries, foreign entities can simultaneously hold influence over Florida’s civil justice system and economy. Given the dire nature of the threat, there presumably should be bipartisan support for reform – so why has nothing been done by our legislators in Tallahassee? Third-party litigation reform seems like it should be low-hanging fruit for legislators; the strategic importance of getting something done has been noted by left and right alike, as well as by non-political defense industry insiders.
But the truth is Florida’s trial bar has a crippling hold on our legislators and its influence is strong. The trial bar stands to benefit from the generation of additional litigation through third-party litigation funding, and regulating this practice would mean less money in their pockets.
Maybe that explains why the Florida Legislature squandered an opportunity to enact legislation that would have made it illegal for foreign powers to influence Florida’s courts.
The legislation – HB 1179 and SB 1276 – would have banned foreign governments from involvement in any decision related to a civil action. It would have served to stop foreign actors from interfering with civil justice in Florida, and it would have protected our national security.
The bill sponsors – state Sen. Jay Collins and state Reps. Toby Overdorf and Tommy Gregory – cited in their work a Swiss Re Insurance estimate that thirdparty litigation funding will become a $30 billion industry by 2028. The findings revealed the rapid and accelerating growth of this global multimillion-dollar industry, and also why it must be regulated now.
It is incredibly disappointing and frustrating that our lawmakers didn’t have our best interests at heart and instead prioritized the interests of the powerful trial bar. Hopefully, Florida can pursue this legislation during the next legislative session. Our lawmakers must take this issue more seriously; they must curb the influence of foreign investors in our civil justice system.
It is not merely a strategic miss to kick this legislative can down the road; it also represents more time lost in addressing and closing loopholes that expose Floridians to foreign actors who aim to do us harm.
Tom Gaitens is the executive director of Florida Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (FL CALA).
It is incredibly disappointing and frustrating that our lawmakers didn’t have our best interests at heart and instead prioritized the interests of the powerful trial bar. Hopefully, Florida can pursue this legislation during the next legislative session. Our lawmakers must take this issue more seriously; they must curb the influence of foreign investors in our civil justice system.