Florida judges who are also hurricane victims should take extra steps to avoid even “the appearance of impropriety” when presiding over property insurance disputes, according to a new Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinion.

The February 1 opinion — No. 2023-01 — was prompted by an inquiry to the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee from a judge or judges who were impacted by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that struck Northwest Florida in 2018.

“Under what circumstances must judges disclose and/or recuse themselves from hurricane-related cases when they have filed an insurance claim with an insurance company that also has cases coming before them?” the inquiry states.