Citizens Insurance warns of being ‘irreparably harmed’

TALLAHASSEE — Arguing that it faces being “irreparably harmed,” the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. wants an appeals court to allow it to use a controversial claims-dispute process while a legal battle plays out.

Attorneys for Citizens on Friday filed a 63-page motion at the 2nd District Court of Appeal seeking a stay of a temporary injunction that Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Melissa M. Polo issued Aug. 1 to block the process, which involves arbitrating claims disputes at the state Division of Administrative Hearings.

Polo wrote that plaintiff Martin Alvarez, a Tampa homeowner, “demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success” on his arguments that the arbitration process violates part of the Florida Constitution designed to ensure access to courts. Citizens appealed the temporary injunction, triggering an automatic stay of Polo’s decision. Such automatic stays are common in cases involving government agencies.

But Polo on Thursday vacated the automatic stay — effectively blocking the arbitration process as the underlying appeal of the injunction moves forward. Citizens’ motion Friday argued the appeals court should put the stay back in place.

Citizens cited what is known as an “endorsement,” a condition in its policies, that gave notice disputes would go to arbitration. It said it is “irreparably harmed because the injunction bars it from enforcing thousands of policy endorsements and stays hundreds of ongoing DOAH (Division of Administrative Hearings) arbitrations — including those where the insured does not object to arbitration.”

It also argued that Alvarez agreed to the arbitration requirement in his policy.

“Plaintiff accepted the terms of the arbitration agreement when, after plaintiff received the renewal package containing those terms, Citizens received his premium payment,” wrote Citizens’ attorneys from the Shutts & Bowen law firm, including former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston.

But Polo, in vacating the automatic stay Thursday, indicated she thinks the arbitration process is tilted toward Citizens.

“Plaintiff has made a preliminary showing that the DOAH forum is structurally biased and deprives policyholders of neutral discovery, motion practice and judicial review,” Polo wrote. “The record shows that DOAH repeatedly awards fees and/or costs to defendant (Citizens), while denying the same relief to the insureds (policyholders).”

The appeals court Friday gave Alvarez’s attorneys a week to respond to the Citizens motion to put the stay back in place.

Florida lawmakers in 2023 approved the arbitration process for Citizens amid a series of moves to try to curb costly lawsuits against insurers. The insurance industry and many Republican leaders blamed litigation for driving up premiums and causing carriers to drop customers.

But opponents of the moves have long argued that they hamstring policyholders in fighting to get claims paid.

Alvarez filed a lawsuit on July 11, about a month after Citizens sent his claim dispute to the Division of Administrative Hearings for arbitration. Documents filed in the lawsuit and at the Division of Administrative Hearings said Alvarez’s home was damaged in October 2024. Citizens’ request for an arbitration hearing indicated the dispute involves $72,811.

Administrative law judges handle cases at the Division of Administrative Hearings.

In its motion Friday, Citizens argued that the arbitration process helps resolve claims issues more quickly. It also disputed that the process was tilted, saying administrative law judges “have not ruled unanimously for Citizens in the DOAH arbitrations” and that cases can be settled.

Originally Published: August 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM EDT