Florida Statute 337.185 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXVI
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Chapter 337
CONTRACTING; ACQUISITION, DISPOSAL, AND USE OF PROPERTY

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337.185 State Arbitration Board.—

(1) To facilitate the prompt resolution of claims arising out of or in connection with a construction or maintenance contract with the department, the Legislature establishes the State Arbitration Board, referred to in this section as the “board.”

(2) As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Claim” means the aggregate of all outstanding written requests for additional monetary compensation, time, or other adjustments to the contract, the entitlement or impact of which is disputed by the department and could not be resolved by negotiation between the department and the contractor.

(b) “Contractor” means a person or firm having a contract for rendering services to the department relating to the construction or maintenance of a transportation facility.

(c) “Final acceptance” means that the contractor has completely performed the work provided for under the contract, the department or its agent has determined that the contractor has satisfactorily completed the work provided for under the contract, and the department or its agent has submitted written notice of final acceptance to the contractor.

(3) Every claim in an amount of up to $250,000 per contract that could not be resolved by negotiation between the department and the contractor must be arbitrated by the board. An award issued by the board pursuant to this section is final and enforceable by a court of law.

(4) The contractor may submit a claim greater than $250,000 up to $2 million per contract or, upon agreement of the parties, greater than $2 million per contract to be arbitrated by the board. An award issued by the board pursuant to this subsection is final if a request for a trial de novo is not filed within the time provided by Rule 1.830, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. At the trial de novo, the court may not admit evidence that there has been an arbitration proceeding, the nature or amount of the award, or any other matter concerning the conduct of the arbitration proceeding, except that testimony given in connection with an arbitration hearing may be used for any purpose otherwise permitted by the Florida Evidence Code. If a request for trial de novo is not filed within the time provided, the award issued by the board is final and enforceable by a court of law.

(5) An arbitration request may not be made to the board before final acceptance but must be made to the board within 820 days after final acceptance. An arbitration request related to a warranty notice provided by the department must be made to the board within 360 days after such notice or 820 days after final acceptance, whichever is later.

(6) The board shall schedule a hearing within 45 days after an arbitration request and, if possible, shall conduct the hearing within 90 days after the request. The board may administer oaths and conduct the proceedings as provided by the rules of the court. 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. The board shall address the scope of discovery, presentation of testimony, and evidence at a preliminary hearing by considering the size, subject matter, and complexity of the dispute. Any party to the arbitration may petition the board, for good cause shown, 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 board for orders compelling such attendance and production at the arbitration. Subpoenas shall be served and are enforceable in the manner provided by law.

(7) The board must issue an award within 45 days after the conclusion of the arbitration hearing. If all three members of the board do not agree, the award agreed to by the majority shall constitute the award of the board.

(8) The board shall be composed of three members. The first member shall be appointed by the Secretary of Transportation, and the second member shall be elected by those construction or maintenance companies that are under contract with the department. The third member shall be chosen by agreement of the first and second members. If the first or second member has a conflict of interest regarding affiliation with one of the parties to an arbitration hearing, the appointing entity shall appoint an alternate member for that hearing. If the third member has such a conflict of interest, the first and second members shall select an alternate member. Each member shall serve a 4-year term. The board shall elect a chair for each term, who shall be the administrator of the board and custodian of its records.

(9) The presence of all board members is required to conduct a meeting in person or via videoconferencing.

(10) The members of the board shall receive compensation for the performance of their duties from deposits made by the parties based on an estimate of compensation by the board, except that an employee of the department may not receive compensation from the board. All deposits will be held in escrow by the chair in advance of the hearing. Each member eligible for compensation shall be compensated at $200 per hour, up to a maximum of $1,500 per day. A member shall be reimbursed for the actual cost of his or her travel expenses. The board may allocate funds annually for clerical and other administrative services.

(11) To cover the cost of administration and initial compensation of the board, the party requesting arbitration shall pay a filing fee to the board, according to a schedule established by the board, of:

(a) Up to $500 for a claim that is $25,000 or less.

(b) Up to $1,000 for a claim that is more than $25,000 but is $50,000 or less.

(d) Up to $2,000 for a claim that is more than $100,000 but is $200,000 or less.

(e) Up to $3,000 for a claim that is more than $200,000 but is $300,000 or less.

(f) Up to $4,000 for a claim that is more than $300,000 but is $400,000 or less.

(g) Up to $5,000 for a claim that is more than $400,000.

The board may apportion the filing fees and the cost of recording and preparing a transcript of the hearing among the parties in its award.

History.—s. 1, ch. 69-351; ss. 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 70-186; s. 56, ch. 78-95; s. 3, ch. 80-346; s. 170, ch. 84-309; s. 19, ch. 85-180; s. 11, ch. 87-100; s. 14, ch. 90-502; s. 123, ch. 92-152; s. 49, ch. 93-164; s. 498, ch. 95-148; s. 2, ch. 99-345; s. 22, ch. 99-385; s. 13, ch. 2002-20; s. 9, ch. 2009-85; s. 5, ch. 2019-153; s. 11, ch. 2021-188; s. 22, ch. 2025-149.

Note.—Former s. 337.32.

F.S. 337.185 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 337.185

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 337.185

Total Results: 3 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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White Const. Co., Inc. v. State, Dept. of Transp., 860 So. 2d 1064 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 22887902

...e terms of the contract between White and the DOT. We agree that under the terms of contract and DOT specifications incorporated therein the 820-day filing requirement is a condition precedent to arbitration and, thus, we affirm. Statutory Framework Section 337.185(1), Florida Statutes (1999), creates the Board and establishes a structure for the resolution of claims arising out of construction contracts with the DOT....

...Further, either DOT or the contractor may request that the claim be submitted to "binding private arbitration." "A court of law may not consider the settlement of such a claim until the process established by this section has been exhausted." Id. The 2002 Legislature amended section 337.185, adding a sentence to subsection (3) which requires arbitration requests to be made to the Board within 820 days after final acceptance of the work. Ch.2002-20, § 13 at 504-05, Laws of Fla. Section 337.185 is silent as to whether the circuit court retains jurisdiction when, as here, an action is filed in circuit court for a claim in excess of $250,000, but the damages claimed are later reduced to an amount less than $250,000....

...To hold otherwise would require prudent parties to file a claim with good faith damages in excess of $250,000 both in the circuit court and before the Board, if there was a risk that the damages may be reduced to an amount less than $250,000. We cannot read section 337.185 to intend such a costly and inefficient dual procedure....

...White filed its request for arbitration with the Board on March 21, 2002. DOT opposed the arbitration request arguing that the claim was barred because it was filed beyond the 820-day time limitation in section 337.19, Florida Statutes (1999). In denying arbitration, however, the Board relied upon neither section 337.185(1) nor section 337.19....

...Analysis Many of the issues raised here by the DOT have been addressed and resolved by this court's recent opinion in Hypower, Inc. v. State Department of Transportation, 839 So.2d 856 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). The Hypower court rejected DOT's contention that the 2002 amendments to section 337.185 applied retroactively to bar Hypower's arbitration request, because to give such a retroactive application to the statute would impair Hypower's vested *1067 rights....

...itration action against DOT filed after the 820-day period provided for in section 337.19(2). This court explained in Hypower: [S]ection 337.19 is not applicable to the instant case, because it relates only to lawsuits and is completely unrelated to section 337.185, Florida Statutes, which sets forth the entire arbitration scheme and establishes the Board....

...at 1076-77; Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. S.A.P., 835 So.2d 1091 (Fla.2002). Finally, White contends that its timely filed lawsuit in circuit court can be transferred by the trial court to the Board, because its timely filed claim subsequently came within the monetary limits of section 337.185(1)....

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Hypower, Inc. v. State, Dep't of Transp., 839 So. 2d 856 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 3065, 2003 WL 882373

...The FDOT argues that the 820-day period within which to file an arbitration request, set forth in section 337.19, Florida Statutes, is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity. However, section 337.19 is not applicable to the instant case, because it relates only to lawsuits and is completely unrelated to section 337.185, Florida Statutes, which sets forth the entire arbitration scheme and establishes the Board....

...Sovereign immunity is waived in the contracts context, not by statute, but by the fact of the contract itself. See Pan-Am Tobacco Corp. v. Dep't of Corrections, 471 So.2d 4 (Fla.1985). Any subsequent time limit on filings is a limitations period. The applicable version of section 337.185 does not set forth a time period within which to file arbitration requests....

...icially sanctioned. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Laforet, 658 So.2d 55 (Fla.1995). Furthermore, the application of such clarification would impermissibly impair Appellant's vested rights and cannot be allowed. See id. Because the version of section 337.185 applicable here contains no limitations period governing arbitration, the arbitration request must be made only within a reasonable time....

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Cone Corp. v. State, Dep't of Transp., 556 So. 2d 530 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 731, 1990 WL 10231

...d time on this project. The FHWA advised the DOT that the FHWA did not accept Cone’s basis for not meeting the DBE goal. The DOT then deducted the $16,912 from payments it owed to Cone on the project. Cone made a demand for arbitration pursuant to section 337.185, Florida Statutes (1987), claiming the $16,912 deducted and interest of $3,044....

...ed until the defect has been remedied and causes for doubt removed. The State Arbitration Board has the authority only to interpret and apply the contract provisions involved in construction contract disputes between the DOT and various contractors. § 337.185, Fla.Stat....