Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...of liability coverage for motor vehicles at $10,000 for injuries to one person and $20,000 for injuries resulting from one accident. However, section 324.021(7)(d) provides that nonpublic-sector buses shall carry insurance in the amount specified in section 627.742. Section 627.742, Florida Statutes (1989), reads as follows: (1) In addition to any other insurance requirements, each nonpublic-sector bus must carry: (a) Proof of ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents arising out of the use of the nonpublic-sector bus: 1....

...(2) School buses subject to the provisions of chapter 234 or s. 316.615 are exempt from the provisions of this section. Because it was stipulated that the Del Busto vehicle was both a nonpublic-sector bus and a school bus, the provisions of subsection (2) eliminate the applicability of section 627.742 and require a reference to chapter 234 or section 316.615....

...Furthermore, it is not unusual for insurance to be written to provide single-limits coverage which sets *1074 forth the maximum liability exposure for any one accident regardless of the number of claims. In fact, in setting forth the minimum insurance required for nonpublic-sector buses other than school buses, section 627.742(1)(b), itself, mandates single-limits coverage....

...Lehman, 55 Fla. 847, 47 So. 18 (1908). Section 324.021(7), Florida Statutes (1989), which establishes the general minimum liability coverage for motor vehicles, provides in subsection (d) that nonpublic-sector buses must have coverage in the amount specified in section 627.742. [3] Section 627.742 requires a nonpublic-sector bus to carry (a) proof of ability to respond to damages for liability for body injury in the amount of $100,000 for one person and $300,000 for two or more persons, or (b) an insurance policy for liability "in a sum not less than $300,000." The Suazos conclude, therefore, that section 627.742 requires coverage greater than the $10,000 limit set generally by section 324.021(7) for automobiles. Del Busto replies that section 627.742 does not apply because subsection (2) of that statute provides that "school buses subject to the provisions of chapter 234 or section 316.615 are exempt from the provisions of this section." Section 234.051 defines a school bus as a v...

...ability, section 234.03 sets the amount at $5,000 per seat or $100,000, whichever is greater. Thus, even if chapter 234 applied to the bus in question, minimum tort liability has been set at $100,000 by this chapter. The other section referred to in 627.742(2), is section 316.615, entitled "Inspection of School Buses; Physical Requirements." The only provision in that statute referring *482 to motor vehicles with seating for more than twenty-four pupils, mandates that such vehicles comply with the requirements of chapter 234 and § 316.615(1)(a)....

...e school bus involved in this case; and (c) disagreeing on the applicable level of insurance coverage. As a preliminary matter, the plaintiffs' original contention in this case was that the applicable level of insurance coverage is that specified in section 627.742, Florida Statutes (1989)....

...That statute applies to nonpublic-sector buses, a term which essentially encompasses all buses carrying persons for compensation, other than those owned or operated by governmental units or certain governmentally related nonprofit corporations. § 316.003(78), Fla. Stat. (1989). [1] Section 627.742 prescribes the required insurance levels for a nonpublic-sector bus. Section 627.742 has an express exclusion which states: "[s]chool buses subject to the provisions of chapter 234 or s. 316.615 are exempt from the provisions of this section." Id. § 627.742(2). This language facially appears to eliminate school buses from the coverage of section 627.742, since chapter 234 addresses the responsibilities of school boards for the transportation of school children, while section 316.615 pertains to the inspection of school buses....

...partment *483 goes on to point out that under section 316.70, Florida Statutes (1989), it is authorized to promulgate insurance regulations for nonpublic-sector buses. While section 316.70 also contains the same "school bus" exclusion as is found in section 627.742, the Department takes the position that the "school bus" exclusion does not apply to a privately operated school bus under either statute. Reasoning from that premise, the Department of Transportation argues that its own Rule 14-82.009, Florida Administrative Code, is the applicable rule. That Rule is substantially identical to the statutory requirements set forth in section 627.742....

...521, 537-39, 143 So. 619, 625-26 (1932). The school bus involved here is a private or contract carrier. It is therefore within the definition of "school bus" under the statute. It follows that the school bus at issue here is excluded from the coverage of section 627.742, as well as section 316.70 and the rule promulgated thereunder....

...[3] § 324.021(7) PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ... (a) In the amount of $10,000 because of bodily injury to, or death of, one person in any one accident; * * * * * * (d) With respect to commercial motor vehicles and non-public-sector buses, in the amounts specified in §§ 627.7415 and 627.742, respectively....