A Florida judge has given another win to Citizens Property Insurance Corp., finding that the state-created insurer’s arbitration endorsement is constitutional and enforceable.
“Final judgment is granted in favor of Citizens and against the plaintiff as to this declaration that the subject state and the arbitration endorsement do not violate the rights of access to the courts, equal protection or due process,” reads the March 10 order from Leon County Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom.
Homeowner Patricia Ruiz had filed suit in 2025, contending that Citizens’ 2023 plan to send some claims disputes to the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, known as DOAH, took away her constitutional right to a jury trial. Ruiz this year voluntarily dropped the suit, but by then, Citizens had filed its own counterclaim, asking the judge to decide if the much-debated DOAH arbitration was, in fact, legal and binding.
The judge held a hearing Feb. 2. Six weeks later, Sjostrom ruled that Florida law exempts Citizens from some statutory restrictions on arbitration clauses in insurance policies.
The statute’s treatment of policies issued by private insurers treats Citizens policies differently but “satisfies the equal protection clause (of the Florida Constitution) because private insurers are different than Citizens and because distinguishing between private insurers and Citizens is sufficiently connected to adequately described governmental interests,” the judge’s order reads.
The statute’s statement of public interest by itself is enough to justify Citizens’ efforts to increase efficiencies, the judge said.
The Citizens’ 2023 arbitration endorsement program, later ratified by statute, was done to help avoid litigation costs for Citizens, which at the time was the state’s largest property insurer and was facing its share of claims lawsuits. But at least three homeowners around the state sued over the arbitration arrangement, arguing that DOAH proceedings were often too quick to allow adequate preparation and led to reduced attorney fees.
Judge Sjostrom in November ordered the DOAH hearings to continue, despite a Hillsborough County judge placing a hold on the proceedings while a Sarasota lawsuit continued. That suit, Alvarez vs. Citizens, was voluntarily dismissed in December after a settlement was reached.
In September, a suit brought in federal court by a 92-year-old homeowner also was dismissed.
Read More: Florida Judge Orders Citizens’ Arbitration to Continue, Clashing With Other Order
Florida Judge Blocks State Agency for Citizens Claims Disputes, But Insurer Appeals
Citizens No Longer Winning Most Arbitration Cases. They’re Settling for Next to Nil
While One Suit Over Citizens’ DOAH Hearings Is Dropped, Drama Builds in Another
Topics
Legislation
Florida
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