In what could be a glimpse of the battles to come over the heavily lobbied issue, a Senate committee bottled up a proposal that would limit attorney fees in cases involving the insurance practice known as “assignment of benefits.”

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee tabled a bill (SB 122) sponsored by Chairman Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, after it became apparent the measure would fail if brought up for a vote. Though the 2019 legislative session does not start until March 5, it was at least an initial blow to the insurance industry and other business groups pushing to limit attorney fees in so-called AOB cases.