Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 44.103 (2025)

Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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44.103 Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration.—

(1) Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration shall be conducted according to the rules of practice and procedure adopted by the Supreme Court.

(2) A court, pursuant to rules adopted by the Supreme Court, may refer any contested civil action filed in a circuit or county court to nonbinding arbitration.

(3) Arbitrators shall be selected and compensated in accordance with rules adopted by the Supreme Court. Arbitrators shall be compensated by the parties, or, upon a finding by the court that a party is indigent, an arbitrator may be partially or fully compensated from state funds according to the party’s present ability to pay. Prior to approving the use of state funds to reimburse an arbitrator, the court must ensure that the party reimburses the portion of the total cost that the party is immediately able to pay and that the party has agreed to a payment plan established by the clerk of the court that will fully reimburse the state for the balance of all state costs for both the arbitrator and any costs of administering the payment plan and any collection efforts that may be necessary in the future. Whenever possible, qualified individuals who have volunteered their time to serve as arbitrators shall be appointed. If an arbitration program is funded pursuant to s. 44.108, volunteer arbitrators are entitled to be reimbursed pursuant to s. 112.061 for all actual expenses necessitated by service as an arbitrator.

(4) An arbitrator or, in the case of a panel, the chief arbitrator, shall have such power to administer oaths or affirmations and to conduct the proceedings as the rules of court shall provide. The hearing shall be conducted informally. Presentation of testimony and evidence shall be kept to a minimum, and matters shall be presented to the arbitrators primarily through the statements and arguments of counsel. Any party to the arbitration may petition the court in the underlying action, for good cause shown, to authorize the arbitrator to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, documents, and other evidence at the arbitration and may petition the court for orders compelling such attendance and production at the arbitration. Subpoenas shall be served and shall be enforceable in the manner provided by law.

(5) The arbitration decision shall be presented to the parties in writing. An arbitration decision shall be final if a request for a trial de novo is not filed within the time provided by rules promulgated by the Supreme Court. The decision shall not be made known to the judge who may preside over the case unless no request for trial de novo is made as herein provided or unless otherwise provided by law. If no request for trial de novo is made within the time provided, the decision shall be referred to the presiding judge in the case who shall enter such orders and judgments as are required to carry out the terms of the decision, which orders shall be enforceable by the contempt powers of the court, and for which judgments execution shall issue on request of a party.

(6) Upon motion made by either party within 30 days after entry of judgment, the court may assess costs against the party requesting a trial de novo, including arbitration costs, court costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and other reasonable costs such as investigation expenses and expenses for expert or other testimony which were incurred after the arbitration hearing and continuing through the trial of the case in accordance with the guidelines for taxation of costs as adopted by the Supreme Court. Such costs may be assessed if:

(a) The plaintiff, having filed for a trial de novo, obtains a judgment at trial which is at least 25 percent less than the arbitration award. In such instance, the costs and attorney’s fees pursuant to this section shall be set off against the award. When the costs and attorney’s fees pursuant to this section total more than the amount of the judgment, the court shall enter judgment for the defendant against the plaintiff for the amount of the costs and attorney’s fees, less the amount of the award to the plaintiff. For purposes of a determination under this paragraph, the term “judgment” means the amount of the net judgment entered, plus all taxable costs pursuant to the guidelines for taxation of costs as adopted by the Supreme Court, plus any postarbitration collateral source payments received or due as of the date of the judgment, and plus any postarbitration settlement amounts by which the verdict was reduced; or

(b) The defendant, having filed for a trial de novo, has a judgment entered against the defendant which is at least 25 percent more than the arbitration award. For purposes of a determination under this paragraph, the term “judgment” means the amount of the net judgment entered, plus any postarbitration settlement amounts by which the verdict was reduced.

History.—s. 3, ch. 87-173; s. 3, ch. 89-31; s. 3, ch. 90-188; s. 3, ch. 93-161; s. 43, ch. 2004-265; s. 32, ch. 2005-236; s. 1, ch. 2007-206; s. 3, ch. 2025-163.

Note.—Former s. 44.303.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 63 cases (14 in the last 5 years), 1993–2026 · leading case: Johnson v. Levine, 736 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).

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Johnson v. Levine, 736 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). · cites it 15× “[1] The trial judge ordered the parties to non-binding arbitration under section 44.103, Florida Statutes (1997). The arbitrator found some defendants liable in damages and others not liable.”

Connell v. City of Plantation, 901 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). · cites it 15× “The court ordered the parties to attend nonbinding arbitration, pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2003). The arbitrators verdict form inquired only as to the parties respective degrees of negligence and the amount of damages.”

Cooper v. Marriott Int'l, Inc., 16 So. 3d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). · cites it 26× “1991), requires a party to plead entitlement to attorney's fees incurred during court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration conducted pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2004). We answer in the negative and affirm the trial court's award of attorney's fees.”

BACON Fam. PARTNERS v. Apollo Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 852 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). · cites it 9× “The Arbitration Proceeding After extensive pretrial proceedings and a mediation that resulted in an impasse, the trial court ordered the parties in the injunction case to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2001), and Florida Rule of Civil…”

Stowe v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 937 So. 2d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). · cites it 7× “In July, 2004, with the parties' agreement, the trial judge referred the case to non-binding arbitration pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2004). The arbitration took place on September 1, 2004.”

Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 858 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 2003). · cites it 6× “The chief arbitrator shall have authority to commence and adjourn the arbitration hearing and carry out other such duties as are prescribed by section 44.103, Florida Statutes. The chief arbitrator shall not have authority to hold any person in contempt or to in any way impose…”

Avatar Props., Inc. v. Greetham, 27 So. 3d 764 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). · cites it 4× “820 and section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2009). An order sending a case to such nonbinding arbitration is not an appealable nonfinal order under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.”

Miele v. Prudential-Bache Sec., Inc., 656 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 1995). · cites it 3× “However, under our statutes and rules of civil procedure, if an arbitration occurs after a claimant files a lawsuit under section 44.103, Florida Statutes (1993) ("Court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration") (implemented by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.”

Centex-rooney Const. Co. v. Martin Cnty., 725 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). · cites it 3× “Section 44.103, the non-binding arbitration statute, provides in relevant part that: (6) The party having filed for a trial de novo may be assessed the arbitration costs, court costs, and other reasonable costs of the party, including attorney's fees, investigation expenses, and…”

United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Ortiz, 931 So. 2d 1025 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). · cites it 7× “Here, the entire case was referred to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to Florida Statutes section 44.103. We find nothing in section 44.”

Dunkin' Donuts Franchised Restaurants, LLC v. 330545 Donuts, Inc., 27 So. 3d 711 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). · cites it 12× “The trigger for assessing fees against a plaintiff occurs when a plaintiff files for a trial de novo after arbitration and “the judgment upon the trial de novo is not more favorable than the arbitration decision.”

Midway Servs., Inc. v. CME, 974 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). · cites it 17× “Section 44.103 addresses *429 court-ordered nonbinding arbitration.”

Show all 63 citing cases →

— 44.103(2) — 13 cases

United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Ortiz, 931 So. 2d 1025 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). “Here, the entire case was referred to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to Florida Statutes section 44.103. We find nothing in section 44.”

Cooper v. Marriott Int'l, Inc., 16 So. 3d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). “1991), requires a party to plead entitlement to attorney's fees incurred during court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration conducted pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2004). We answer in the negative and affirm the trial court's award of attorney's fees.”

Landing Grp. of Tampa, Inc. v. Kifner, 951 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007).

Diaz v. Andy, 987 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).

Winter Green At Winter Park Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Ware, 264 So. 3d 1143 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019).

— 44.103(4) — 5 cases

Johnson v. Levine, 736 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). “[1] The trial judge ordered the parties to non-binding arbitration under section 44.103, Florida Statutes (1997). The arbitrator found some defendants liable in damages and others not liable.”

BACON Fam. PARTNERS v. Apollo Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 852 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). “The Arbitration Proceeding After extensive pretrial proceedings and a mediation that resulted in an impasse, the trial court ordered the parties in the injunction case to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2001), and Florida Rule of Civil…”

State, Dept. of Transp. v. BellSouth Telecomm., Inc., 859 So. 2d 1278 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003).

Gallardo v. Scott, 821 So. 2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002).

Good Samaritan Hosp. Ass'n v. Adeimy, 622 So. 2d 1048 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993).

— 44.103(4X5) — 1 case

Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, 858 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 2003). “The chief arbitrator shall have authority to commence and adjourn the arbitration hearing and carry out other such duties as are prescribed by section 44.103, Florida Statutes. The chief arbitrator shall not have authority to hold any person in contempt or to in any way impose…”

— 44.103(5) — 34 cases

Connell v. City of Plantation, 901 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). “The court ordered the parties to attend nonbinding arbitration, pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2003). The arbitrators verdict form inquired only as to the parties respective degrees of negligence and the amount of damages.”

Stowe v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 937 So. 2d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). “In July, 2004, with the parties' agreement, the trial judge referred the case to non-binding arbitration pursuant to section 44.103, Florida Statutes (2004). The arbitration took place on September 1, 2004.”

Patterson v. Allstate Ins. Co., 884 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004).

Nicholson-kenny Capital Mgmt. v. Steinberg, 932 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006).

— 44.103(6) — 10 cases

Dunkin' Donuts Franchised Restaurants, LLC v. 330545 Donuts, Inc., 27 So. 3d 711 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). “The trigger for assessing fees against a plaintiff occurs when a plaintiff files for a trial de novo after arbitration and “the judgment upon the trial de novo is not more favorable than the arbitration decision.”

Centex-rooney Const. Co. v. Martin Cnty., 725 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). “Section 44.103, the non-binding arbitration statute, provides in relevant part that: (6) The party having filed for a trial de novo may be assessed the arbitration costs, court costs, and other reasonable costs of the party, including attorney's fees, investigation expenses, and…”

Midway Servs., Inc. v. CME, 974 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). “Section 44.103 addresses *429 court-ordered nonbinding arbitration.”

Saltzman v. Hadlock, 112 So. 3d 772 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013).

— 44.103(6)(a) — 1 case

Saltzman v. Hadlock, 112 So. 3d 772 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013).

— 44.103(g)(3) — 1 case

— 44.103(h) — 1 case

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