State-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. may continue to pursue more than 400 claims through an alternative dispute system that critics say produces rulings favorable to the insurer.

A circuit judge from Leon County, Jonathan Sjostrom, signed an order on Friday saying that state law authorizes the company to send pending lawsuits to the Department of Administrative Hearings rather than the court system.

The ruling requires DOAH to move forward on pending arbitration cases that have been stalled since Aug. 1. A Citizens spokesman said Monday that he doesn’t know whether the order allows it to send new cases to the panel. Seven other cases recently approved by judges will proceed, the spokesman said.

The ruling by Sjostrom overturns a statewide injunction issued by Melissa Mary Polo,

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