A Hillsborough County circuit judge reinstated an injunction that stops state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from forcing policyholders’ claims disputes to an arbitration panel that the company funds.

Circuit Judge Melissa Polo on Aug. 1 granted a temporary injunction requested by attorneys for Martin Alvarez, a Tampa man who was planning to sue the state’s insurer of last resort over its offer to settle his hurricane damage claim.

Polo’s order, rather than stopping action only in Alvarez’ case, barred Citizens from diverting any and all claims disputes to the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) and paused cases that were already underway. She ruled that Alvarez demonstrated a “substantial likelihood of success” in its claim that the practice violates policyhold

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