Estimated reading time: 9 minutes.
Key facts
- Case: Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs v. First Street Technology, Inc., Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial Circuit in Polk County, Florida. No case number appears on the filed complaint.
- Filed: October 23, 2026, by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
- Who is sued: First Street Technology, Inc., which publishes 1-to-10 climate risk scores, including Flood Factor, for U.S. properties. MSCI Inc. bought the company in August 2026.
- Core allegation: Florida says First Street markets its scores as accurate, transparent and peer-reviewed while hiding how uncertain they are.
- Law: Two counts under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
- What the state wants: A court order changing how the scores are presented, consumer redress and civil penalties.
- Status: A complaint only. No court has ruled. This is a state enforcement case, not a class action, so there is nothing to join or claim.
In this article
- What Florida filed
- What First Street does
- How Flood Factor differs from FEMA flood maps
- What the complaint alleges
- The law Florida is using
- What the state wants the court to order
- What First Street has said
- How this fits with the Nebraska case
- What Florida homeowners and buyers can do now
- What happens next
- Frequently asked questions
Florida's attorney general is suing the company behind the flood, fire, wind, heat and air quality scores that have appeared on home listings on sites such as Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin. The state says those scores scare off buyers, push down sale prices and can raise insurance costs, while consumers are not told how uncertain the numbers are.
It is the second state case against the company in recent months, after Nebraska sued in August. Neither case has produced a ruling.
What Florida filed
The attorney general's office filed a 45-page complaint in state trial court in Polk County. It brings two counts under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, often shortened to FDUTPA: one for unfair and unconscionable practices and one for deceptive practices.
In a video posted on X and quoted by WLRN and the Florida Phoenix, Uthmeier said, "Florida homeowners deserve facts, not alarmist scores that hit their property values and their wallets."
The complaint accuses the company of "marketing fear to advance a climate activism agenda." That is the state's description in a lawsuit, not a court finding.
This is not a class action Florida is suing under its own consumer protection powers. Homeowners are not plaintiffs and there is no class to sign up for. Any money for consumers would depend on what a court orders or the parties agree to later.
What First Street does
According to the complaint, First Street began as the nonprofit First Street Foundation. In 2024 the foundation's models and data were sold, through an affiliate, to First Street Technology, Inc. for more than $16 million. The company is a Delaware public benefit corporation based in New York. MSCI Inc., a financial data company, said on August 3, 2026 that it had completed its purchase of First Street.
First Street's consumer product is called Risk Factor. It gives a property five scores from 1 to 10: Flood Factor, Fire Factor, Wind Factor, Air Factor and Heat Factor. The basic scores are free. Detailed property reports, which the complaint says include damage forecasts, insurance information and event history, sit behind a paywall.
Most buyers see the scores on real estate listings. First Street announced in September 2024 that Zillow would show its data on for-sale listings. The complaint says Zillow removed the direct scores in December 2025 after complaints from a California listing service and now links to First Street's website. Realtor.com and Redfin have also displayed the scores. The state also alleges that Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Allstate use First Street data.
How Flood Factor differs from FEMA flood maps
FEMA, the federal disaster agency, publishes flood maps that sort land into hazard zones. The complaint notes that federally backed mortgages require flood insurance when a home sits in a FEMA flood risk zone. Zone X is the lowest hazard classification.
In its own explanation, quoted in the complaint, First Street says FEMA measures risk at the community level from 1-in-100 or 1-in-500 year storm surge or river floods, while Flood Factor looks at each property, accounts for changing climate conditions and adds heavy rainfall. A 1-in-100 year flood has a 1% chance of happening in any given year.
The state's lead example is a house in Oldsmar, in Pinellas County. FEMA places it in Zone X. On Redfin, First Street gave it a Flood Factor of 7 out of 10, labeled "Major," with an estimated 74% to 82% chance of flood water reaching the building in the next 30 years. The complaint says First Street's own methodology states that properties with at least a 99% chance of flooding over 30 years get a score of 6 or higher, and calls the gap unexplained.
The same listing showed a Heat Factor of 10 out of 10 with "7 days above 108" expected. The complaint says buyers must click through to learn that figure is a "feels like" temperature.
Two different kinds of flood measure FEMA zones are official maps tied to federal flood insurance rules. Flood Factor is a private forecast of risk over 30 years. Florida's core complaint is that buyers are not told how far the two can differ or why.
What the complaint alleges
Beyond the Oldsmar house, the state's main allegations are:
- Uncertain science presented as precise. The complaint cites a 2024 study in the journal Earth's Future that found only a 24% chance that First Street's flood data and another model would agree on whether a property was at risk, and a 2025 study of 13 climate data vendors that found wide differences between them.
- Premature peer-review claims. The state says First Street's then-CEO, Matthew Eby, said in February 2023 that everything the company does goes through peer review, while its wind model paper was not published until November 1, 2023.
- Transparency claims behind a paywall. The complaint says First Street did not share data with CarbonPlan, a nonprofit that tried to compare climate risk companies in 2024.
- No way to fix a score. The state quotes a First Street help page saying that "as a rule, we do not update Factor scores based on individual ... disputes." It cites a Better Business Bureau complaint from a homeowner whose property was rated 10 out of 10 "Extreme" for flooding while both neighbors were rated 1 out of 10.
- Implied government backing. City pages show the logos of NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Homeland Security under the heading "Powered by the World's Lead Scientists." The state says this suggests a government endorsement that does not exist.
- Effect on sales. The complaint cites a 2025 Zillow analysis finding that 52% of homes with a high flood risk rating sold, compared with 71% of low-risk homes.
The law Florida is using
FDUTPA makes unfair methods of competition and "unconscionable acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices" in trade or commerce unlawful. In the complaint's terms, a practice is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably, and unfair if it offends established public policy or is unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous or substantially injurious to consumers. The state says First Street sells paid reports to Florida consumers. Under sections 501.2075 and 501.2077 of the Florida Statutes, a court can impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each willful violation, or $15,000 when the victim is a senior citizen or a person with a disability.
What the state wants the court to order
Florida asks for a permanent injunction, a court order that would bar First Street from claiming to give the "most accurate estimate of risk" without disclosing uncertainty, from presenting scores without explaining how they differ from government models, and from calling its scores transparent or peer-reviewed in misleading ways. The state also seeks redress for consumers, disgorgement (giving up profits gained through the alleged conduct), civil penalties, and attorney's fees. It demands a jury trial.
What First Street has said
WLRN and the Florida Phoenix reported that they asked First Street for comment and had not heard back. We did not find a public response from First Street or MSCI to the Florida lawsuit when this article was published.
First Street's past public positions appear in the complaint itself. The company has said Flood Factor "shows a more nuanced, property-specific flood risk, as opposed to a binary in-or-out of floodplain analysis from FEMA maps." The complaint also says Eby responded to the 2024 Earth's Future study by arguing that the best way to validate climate models is to test them against real flooding events, including FEMA flood damage claims.
How this fits with the Nebraska case
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued First Street on August 27, 2026, in Dakota County District Court. His office says many scores rely on inaccurate or incomplete property information, including ignoring flood protection homeowners have paid for, and that First Street refuses to consider consumer disputes. That case is separate.
What Florida homeowners and buyers can do now
There is no settlement, refund program or claim form. A few practical points:
- Check the official flood zone. FEMA's flood maps remain the basis for federal flood insurance rules. You can look up a property through FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and compare it with any private score you see on a listing.
- Keep records. If a score affected a sale or insurance quote, save the listing, the score and any dispute you sent.
- Ask your insurer what data it uses. The complaint alleges some insurers use First Street data, but it does not say how any particular insurer sets Florida premiums.
Nothing to claim yet Be wary of anyone offering to sign you up for the First Street case for a fee. If the court later orders consumer redress, the state would announce how it works.
For cases that are open to consumers now, see our list of class action cases you can join. This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
What happens next
First Street must be served and then respond, either by answering or by asking the court to dismiss the case. The case could also settle. We will update this story when the court acts or First Street responds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Florida lawsuit against First Street about?
Florida alleges First Street markets its climate risk scores as accurate, transparent and peer-reviewed while hiding their uncertainty.
Is this a class action I can join?
No. It is a state enforcement case filed by the attorney general. There is no class, settlement or claim form.
What is Flood Factor?
Flood Factor is First Street's 1-to-10 score estimating a property's flood risk over 30 years. It has appeared on listings on Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin.
Does a First Street score change federal flood insurance rules?
The complaint says federal flood insurance requirements for federally backed mortgages are tied to FEMA flood zones, not First Street scores. The state alleges some lenders and insurers also use First Street data.
Has First Street been found to have misled consumers?
No. The complaint contains allegations only. No court has ruled.
Did any other state sue First Street?
Yes. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed a similar lawsuit on August 27, 2026, in Dakota County District Court.
