Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...e benefit and protection of the public. §§ 20.02, 20.13, 624.316, 624.418, Fla.Stat. On the other hand, Chapter 631, Florida Statutes, provides "the sole and exclusive method of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving an insurer." § 631.021(3), Fla.Star....

...First, it is not clear that an order establishing a rehabilitation proceeding is a final order. See Tom v. State ex rel. Tom, 153 So.2d 334 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963). Both states have statutes permitting appeals from these orders, implying that such an order might not otherwise be a final appealable order. See § 631.021(4), Fla....

...[3] Section 624.446, Florida Statutes (1989), authorizes the department to supervise the liquidation of a MEWA under the laws governing liquidation. Chapter 631, Florida Statutes (1989), governs rehabilitation and liquidation of insolvent insurers. Section 631.021(1), Florida Statutes (1989), provides, in part: "Any delinquency proceeding in this chapter is in equity." [4] Sosso testified at the hearing that a September 7, 1989 letter from IFF chairman George Doherty was sent to agents informing them of the assessability provision....

...eign insurer may be entered by a Florida court. It must be noted, first, that "Delinquency proceedings" pursuant to Chapter 631, filed in the name of the Department, "shall constitute the sole and exclusive method of liquidating ... an insurer, ..." Section 631.021(4)....

...ies) under the Florida Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act, "the Circuit Court of Leon County [has and] shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to [Aries's] assets or property ... and claims against said insurer's assets or property." § 631.021(6), Fla....

...Ocean denies complicity in any illegality and asserts entitlement to most, if not all, of the value of the Miami property. When Ocean sought to subject DFS to the jurisdiction of another court by instituting a foreclosure action in Miami, DFS "refuse[d] to accept service." § 631.021(5), Fla....

...dant and conduct its business affairs, and to take such steps toward removal of the causes and conditions which have made rehabilitation necessary; * * *" Additionally, Glens Falls would show that, pursuant to F.S. 1967, sections 631.051(1), (6) and 631.021(4), F.S.A., the Circuit Court in and for Leon County entered an order dated October 5, 1967, granting a petition of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Florida to adjudge North American insolvent and to authorize the establishment of such company so that its assets within Florida could be preserved....

...owing grounds. That the insurer: "(1) Is impaired or insolvent;" * * * * * * "(6) Is found by the commissioner to be in such condition that further transaction of business by it will be hazardous to its policyholder, creditors, or stockholders;" [1] Section 631.021 "(4) Delinquency proceedings pursuant to this chapter shall constitute the sole and exclusive method of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving an insurer, and no court shall entertain a petition for the commencement o...

...ether with its total issued and outstanding capital stock if a stock insurer, or the minimum surplus if a mutual or reciprocal insurer, required by this code to be maintained for the kind or kinds of insurance it is then authorized to transact. [2] "Section 631.021 Jurisdiction of delinquency proceedings; venue; change of venue; exclusiveness of remedy; appeal....

...commencement of such proceedings unless the same has been filed in the name of the state on the relation of the commissioner." Since there is no precedent in Florida on this point, new ground must be struck. To *704 dispose of appellee's reliance on 631.021(4), this statute can be narrowly construed....

...against an alien insurer, even though we had previously held that the Department of Insurance lacked authority to seek liquidation of the insurer. Subject matter jurisdiction is not, as we noted in Provident Capital, a "narrow concept." Id. at 364. Section 631.021(1), Florida Statutes provides that "[t]he circuit court shall have original jurisdiction of any delinquency proceeding under this chapter...." This simple declarative sentence provides the answer to the question we have been asked to address....

...Judge Lewis did mention that the fraud claim underlying the defense of estoppel should be litigated in a separate forum, but he did not adjudicate a claim of fraud or, for that matter, any claim for affirmative relief. He merely rejected the defense of estoppel in the context of the turnover proceeding. Chase contends that section 631.021, Florida Statutes, does not confer jurisdiction on the circuit court to hear third-party claims such as these, because the statute states that "[a]ny delinquency proceeding in this chapter is in equity." As Chase points *477 out, acti...

...t and could not inure to the benefit of the estate or to policyholders, creditors, or other claimants. § 631.141(6), Fla. Stat. (2002). As we have previously explained, the circuit court has jurisdiction over the entire liquidation proceeding under section 631.021, Florida Statutes....

...Also, the Department argues, Cypress failed to meet its burden of proving that it cured the *1181 problems existing at the institution of the proceedings and that several other grounds besides insolvency exist to require the receivership. We agree that subsection 631.021(3) provides that a delinquency proceeding pursuant to chapter 631 is the "sole and exclusive method of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving an insurer." However, contrary to the Department's contention, no provision of section 631.021 prohibits an insurer (such as Cypress) that is the subject of a delinquency proceeding from entering into an agreement with a creditor to lawfully settle or compromise outstanding liabilities or claims and thereby render the insurer statutorily solvent....

...I respectfully dissent and would reverse. The record supports the Department's position that appellee is insolvent and has not satisfied its burden of proving that the settlement agreement involving the use of "surplus notes" cured its insolvency. See § 631.021, Fla....

...claims in a single forum. Levy v. Lewis, 635 F.2d 960, 964-67 (2d Cir.1980) (applying New York codification). The Act grants sole venue and exclusive original jurisdiction over liquidation proceedings to the Circuit Court of Leon County. Fla. Stat. § 631.021 (1989)....

...at DFS initiate delinquency proceedings and petition for receivership. By law, a “delinquency proceeding pursuant to [Chapter 631] constitutes the sole and exclusive method of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving an insurer.” § 631.021(3), Fla....

...88-116, §§ 4 & 6, Laws of Fla. . Section 624.446, Florida Statutes (1989), authorizes the department to supervise the liquidation of a MEWA under the laws governing liquidation. Chapter 631, Florida Statutes (1989), governs rehabilitation and liquidation of insolvent insurers. Section 631.021(1), Florida Statutes (1989), provides, in part: "Any delinquency proceeding in this chapter is in equity.” ....

...surer, director, officer, employee, or agent of an insurer for violating insurance law holding company provisions) (u) Section 629.401(18) (Action to compel testimony pursuant to subpoena relating to insurance examiner's investigation authority) (v) Section 631.021 (Delinquency proceedings against a domestic, foreign, or alien insurer) (w) Section 631.371 (Alternative seizure order provision involving Department of Insurance) (x) Section 766.314(6) (Actions to compel collection of assessments pu...

after the expiration of the ninety days. See: Section 631.021(4), Florida Statutes (1977). *382After the

...not claim the contract funds as assets of the receiver. GSW further argues that GSW should not be considered a third party under the statute. There is no question that the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction over the receiver’s claim. See section 631.021, Florida Statutes....

...plaintiff, in the particular case before the court.” Id. (quoting Malone v. Meres, 91 Fla. 709, 725 , 109 So. 677, 683 (1926)). By statute, “[t]he circuit court (has) original jurisdiction of any delinquency proceeding under this chapter....” § 631.021, Fla....

...s Caduceus' policy limits. In the alternative, they assert that the trial court should have awarded them monies beyond $250,000 to cover litigation costs, interest, and liens. Analysis Delinquency proceedings under chapter 631 are actions in equity. § 631.021(1), Fla....