HB 1167 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1167-00
Page 1 of 2
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to attorney fees and costs in property 2
rights disputes; creating s. 57.106, F.S.; defining 3
terms; requiring courts to award reasonable attorney 4
fees and costs to a prevailing defendant in certain 5
civil actions under specified circumstances; providing 6
an effective date. 7
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 9
10
Section 1. Section 57.106, Florida Statutes, is created to 11
read: 12
57.106 Recovery of attorney fees and costs in certain 13
disputes regarding property rights. — 14
(1) For the purposes of this section, the term: 15
(a) "Improvement" includes, but is not limited to, 16
anything done to increase the value, use, or benefit of r eal 17
property, whether physical, material, legal, or otherwise. 18
(b) "Property rights" includes, but is not limited to, use 19
rights, ingress and egress rights, and those rights incident to 20
land bordering upon navigable waters as described in s. 253.141. 21
(2) In a civil action brought against the owner of a 22
parcel of real property to resolve a dispute concerning property 23
rights, the court must award reasonable attorney fees and costs 24
to the prevailing defendant if the improvements made to the 25
HB 1167 2024
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1167-00
Page 2 of 2
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
property by the defendant property owner were made in 26
substantial compliance with, or in reliance on, environmental or 27
regulatory approvals or permits issued by a political 28
subdivision of the state or a state agency. 29
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 30