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

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