CopyCited 14 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 14602, 39 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 2020
...yment of covered claims under certain classes of insurance policies issued by insurers which have become insolvent.” Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Devon Neighborhood Ass'n,
67 So.3d 187, 189 (Fla.2011); see §§
631.51,
631.55, Fla. Stat. (2011). . See §
631.67, Fla....
CopyCited 13 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1994 WL 685608
...LAZZARA, Judge. The petitioners, led by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), invoke our certiorari jurisdiction to review an order denying an amended motion for entry of stay sought in part under the automatic six-month stay provision of section 631.67, Florida Statutes (1993)....
...Shortly thereafter, FIGA, acting under the authority of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Act (FIGA Act), [2] sought a formal order acknowledging an automatic *277 stay of this proceeding for six months. FIGA relied in part on the provision of section 631.67 which provides in pertinent part [3] that: All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer ....
...It also safeguarded those who had sought to protect themselves by purchasing insurance policies. To effectuate its intentions, the legislature found it necessary to limit the time for filing claims.
573 So.2d 334 (footnote omitted). Measured against this standard, we conclude that the mandatory six-month stay provision of section
631.67, Florida Statutes (1993), passes constitutional muster....
...evaluate the claim and decide whether it should be settled without further delay, thereby avoiding continued financial loss to the claimant and the insured of the insolvent insurer. We conclude, therefore, that the six-month stay period mandated by section 631.67 represents a reasonable restriction on respondents' access to the courts....
...me Court on certiorari was "void and in the same status as if the portion quashed had never been entered."). On remand, therefore, FIGA will have the opportunity, if it so chooses, to invoke its rights under the mandatory six-month stay provision of section 631.67 "in the same manner and to the same extent" as if the order quashed had never been entered....
...The trial court concluded, however, that FIGA waived its right to rely on this statutory provision as a basis for a stay because it failed to argue it at the hearing. Petitioners do not contest this ruling. [5] FIGA was correct in this assertion. Chapter 80-26, at 85, Laws of Florida, amended section 631.67 to its present form. The title to this enacting legislation reads in part as follows: "[a]n act relating to insurance ... amending s. 631.67, Florida Statutes, altering the length of mandatory stays of certain proceedings." (Emphasis added.) Thus, the title clearly indicates the legislature's intent that such a stay is mandatory in nature....
CopyCited 12 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 23094682
...While both actions were pending, Reliance was declared insolvent, and FIGA was substituted as its successor in the declaratory judgment action pursuant to section
631.58, Florida Statutes (2002). When FIGA was substituted, the trial court imposed a stay of litigation pursuant to section
631.67 in the declaratory judgment action. Despite the provisions of section
631.67, no such stay was imposed in the underlying action....
CopyCited 7 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 2792, 2000 WL 276385
...[1] On or about November 25, 1997, appellee, Quality Car Rental, filed a "Notice of Stay Pursuant to Florida Law" which declared that its insurer was insolvent and noted that, because the jurisdiction of Florida Insurance Guarantee Association (FIGA) was triggered, the action is stayed for up to six months pursuant to section 631.67, Florida Statute....
...ff's complaint and grant an extension of time in which to serve the defendants. NOTES [1] We note that the Amended Complaint, upon which we are now traveling, was filed on the very last day permissible under the four-year statute of limitations. [2] Section 631.67, Florida Statutes provides that: [a]ll proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party in any court or before any quasi-judicial body or administrative board in this state shall be stayed for 6 m...
...on to permit proper defense by the association of all pending causes of action as to any covered claims; provided that such stay may be extended for a period of time greater than 6 months upon proper application to a court of competent jurisdiction. § 631.67, Fla....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1995 WL 619881
...s' Compensation of the Department of Labor & Employment Security, and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) to respond to the issues presented. FIGA filed a response, listing itself as an appellant and directing this court's attention to section 631.67, Florida Statutes, which provides in pertinent part: All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party in any court or before any quasi-judicial body or administrative board in this state shall...
...We therefore strongly encourage FIGA to note its appearance with this court immediately upon assuming responsibility for any claim which is the subject of a pending appeal. Further, FIGA should make efforts to resume activity in the appeal within the six months provided for by section 631.67 or, where feasible, sooner.
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2003 Fla. App. LEXIS 287, 2003 WL 131638
...litation in the Citrus County Circuit Court on December 19, 2001. The plaintiffs in the Florida action filed a motion to lift the stay of proceedings on April 27, 2002, which motion was granted. When they moved to lift the stay, the plaintiffs cited section 631.67, Florida Statutes (2002) which provides for an automatic six-month stay of all proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party, commencing when the insurer is adjudicated insolvent....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1990 WL 15388
...of the legislation. In the instant case, the legislation has a reasonable (rational) relationship to the stated purpose of avoiding financial loss to claimants or policyholders because of the insolvency of the insurer. Without belaboring the point, section 631.67 requires that FIGA defend the policyholder where the insolvent insurer had an obligation to defend....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 470
...Rehearing Denied April 1, 1985. Wolfson & Diamond and Michael J. Schwartz, Miami Beach, for appellant. Preddy, Kutner & Hardy and G. William Bissett, Miami, for appellees. Before HENDRY, BASKIN and JORGENSON, JJ. PER CURIAM. Under the facts herein, section 631.67, Florida Statutes (1983), did not furnish a basis for vacating the default judgment in favor of Newkirk....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 543427, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 1648
...receiver for Homewise for purposes of rehabilitation and issuing an automatic mandatory
2
stay under section
631.041(1), Florida Statutes (2011), of all legal proceedings against
Homewise. We momentarily digress to note that section
631.67, Florida Statutes (2011),
provides other stay provisions that apply to FIGA, which will become pertinent to the
discussion later....
...Accordingly, we reverse the
orders denying Morrison’s motions and remand this case to the trial court for further
proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
EDWARDS, J., and BLACKWELL, A.L., Associate Judge, concur.
7
covered claims.” § 631.67, Fla....
...came to the same conclusion. In affirming the trial court’s order granting the insured’s
motion to substitute FIGA as a defendant in the pending first-party action, the court
explained:
Section
631.68 must be read in harmony with section
631.67,
and all other related provisions of chapter 631, in order that
the objectives of each of the chapter’s provisions not be
sacrificed....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2016 WL 1445424, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 5583
...ant to Chapter 631, the
lawsuit automatically and permanently is stayed with regard to the insolvent
insurer. §
631.041(1), Fla. Stat. (2011).
With regard to FIGA, however, the lawsuit is stayed automatically for a
period of six months. §
631.67, Fla....
...The statute plainly and
unequivocally sets forth the purpose of the statutory stay as to FIGA: “All
proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party . . . shall be stayed for 6
months . . . to permit proper defense by the association [FIGA] of all pending
causes of action as to any covered claims . . . .” § 631.67, Fla....
...insurer and the claimant or insured is a resident of this state at the time
of the insured event or the property from which the claim arises is
permanently located in this state.
§
631.54(3), Fla. Stat. (2011).
7
Section
631.67 specifically allows FIGA to request from the trial court that the stay
be enlarged, shortened or waived.
B....
...§
631.57(1)(b), Fla.
Stat. (2011).
Mendoza’s pending lawsuit – now against FIGA, the statutorily designated
guarantor of First Home – was stayed for six months to allow FIGA sufficient time
to prepare a proper defense against the claim. §
631.67, Fla....
...pending lawsuits) from being filed more than one year beyond the deadline for
filing claims with the receiver for the insolvent insurer. FIGA’s interpretation of
section
631.68 would impair those specific statutes that address pending cases.
For example, section
631.67 authorizes FIGA to request waiver,
enlargement or shortening of the six-month automatic stay; and section
631.67 also
7 Obviously, the purpose of the stay is to allow FIGA to “get up to speed” on the
claim, retain existing or new counsel, and determine whether the claim is a covered
claim....
... allows FIGA to apply to have vacated any trial court default of an insolvent
insurer. If, as FIGA suggests, the trial court did not obtain jurisdiction over FIGA
upon the defendant insurer’s insolvency, FIGA would lack standing to seek such
relief in the trial court. Nothing in section 631.67 conditions FIGA’s ability to seek
such relief from a trial court upon a plaintiff’s either filing a separate suit against
FIGA or affirmatively seeking substitution and service of FIGA in a pending
lawsuit.
Additionally, if FIGA had to be separately sued and served in pending cases,
it is unclear exactly what proceedings would need to be stayed for six months
under section 631.67....
...The plaintiff’s action against the insolvent insurer is
permanently stayed by virtue of section
631.041(1). Presumably, had the
Legislature intended for separate service on FIGA to be effectuated in order for the
trial court to gain jurisdiction over FIGA in pending cases, the Legislature would
have specified in section
631.67 a stay of “joinder of FIGA” or a stay of “service
being obtained on FIGA,” in order to further the rationale of the six-month stay.
Section
631.67 is clear on its face: pending lawsuits against insolvent
insurers are stayed for six months to allow FIGA a considered time period to
defend properly against those claims. Nothing in section
631.67 suggests any
requirement that FIGA need be separately added and served as a prerequisite to
FIGA defending such pending claims.
10
Also, FIGA’s proposed interpretation of section...
...process on the lawsuit’s defendant. Nothing in the statutory scheme of chapter 631
requires Mendoza to leap such additional hurdles in order to ensure that FIGA
performs its statutorily required duties in this case.
Section
631.68 must be read in harmony with section
631.67, and all other
related provisions of chapter 631, in order that the objectives of each of the
chapter’s provisions not be sacrificed....
...Against this backdrop, we conclude that the
limitations period in section
631.68 is inapplicable to first-party lawsuits pending
against the insurer when the insurer is declared insolvent.
IV. Conclusion
Sections
631.57(1)(b) and
631.67 provide the mechanism for what happens
when a defendant insurer in a pending first-party lawsuit is declared
insolvent....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1390201
..., finding that PHILCO is insolvent. The order states all actions in which PHILCO is or may be obligated to defend a party are stayed unless otherwise waived or agreed by all parties to an action. Halili filed a motion to stay this proceeding, citing section 631.67, Florida Statutes, which provides: All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party in any court or before any quasi-judicial body or administrative board in this state shall be stayed for 6 m...
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 14230
PER CURIAM. The stay previously entered in this case pursuant to Section 631.67, Florida Statutes (1983), is hereby vacated pursuant to Florida Insurance Guaranty Association’s waiver filed in this court....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal
...s insurer. It is
undisputed that the insurer has declared insolvency and has entered
receivership, and that the trial court has refused to stay the proceedings
“because the insurer is not a named party to the lawsuit.” This was error.
Section 631.67, Florida Statutes (2021), provides that all proceedings
in which an insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party shall
be stayed for six months. This Court has previously held that the stay
provided for in section 631.67 is both automatic and mandatory, and that the
stay must be to the entire proceeding....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 13204
PER CURIAM. Petition for writ of certiorari denied without prejudice to raise after pretrial conference any prejudice created by the court having set the cause for trial at a date approximately twenty days from expiration of stay pursuant to section 631.67, Florida Statutes (1983)....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...Rubin first notified FIGA of this
supplemental insurance claim on December 2, 2010, after suit was filed,
with a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss and a public adjuster’s estimate
seeking the additional purported damages. FIGA moved to stay the
proceedings under section 631.67, Florida Statutes (2010), in order to
investigate Rubin’s five-year-old claim....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...t instance.”)
(citation omitted)); Snyder v. Douglas,
647 So. 2d 275, 276–77 (Fla. 2d DCA
1994) (finding trial court’s denial of Florida Insurance Guarantee
Association’s motion for stay “under the automatic six-month stay provision
of section
631.67, Florida Statutes (1993)” constituted irreparable harm
because “if the respondents do obtain a judgment, and the proceedings
leading up to the judgment are deemed fundamentally sound on direct
appeal, there is a likelihood that...
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 2405, 2007 WL 518628
...on to permit proper defense by the association of all pending causes of action as to any covered claims; provided that such stay may be extended for a period of time greater than 6 months upon proper application to a court of competent jurisdiction. § 631.67....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 470, 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 12499
PER CURIAM. Under the facts herein, section 631.67, Florida Statutes (1983), did not furnish a basis for vacating the default judgment in favor of Newkirk....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 603317, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 1958
...mo timely filed a cause of action for breach
of insurance contract against their homeowner's insurance carrier, Homewise Preferred
Insurance Company, and the case was set for jury trial. However, in 2011 Homewise
became insolvent, and pursuant to section 631.67, Florida Statutes (2011), the
proceedings were automatically stayed for six months "to permit proper defense by
[FIGA]." During the stay, FIGA notified Gonzalez and Perdomo that it had assumed
their claim and had assigned it to an adjuster....
...As such, the Act contemplates that FIGA will step
into the shoes of the insolvent insurer. Therefore, in cases where the insolvent insurer
is already the defendant in a pending lawsuit, FIGA becomes the defendant in that
pending lawsuit. To that end, section 631.67 of the Act explicitly states that it applies to
pending proceedings and automatically stays those proceedings for a period of six
months....
...Specifically, the court pointed out that "Mendoza's substitution motion merely
reflected what had already occurred by operation of section
631.57(1)(b) when [the
insurer] was declared insolvent." Id. at 944. The court also noted the automatic stay
provided by section
631.67, as well as its stated purpose of permitting a proper defense
by FIGA of all pending causes of action on covered claims and that the statute "allows
FIGA to request from the trial court that the stay be enlarged, shortened[,] or waived."
Id. Noting that "[s]ection
631.68 must be read in harmony with section
631.67, and all
other related provisions of chapter 631, in order that the objectives of each of the
chapter's provisions not be sacrificed," id....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 11403, 2002 WL 1800996
...of the entire case pursuant to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Act (“FIGA”), which provides that: “All proceedings in which the insolvent insurer is a party or is obligated to defend a party in any Court ... shall be stayed for 6 months ...” § 631.67, Fla....
...In this petition, Martinez argues the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by failing to stay the entire proceeding and that Martinez will be irreparably harmed by not taking part in the defense of the claim, while proceedings continue in Martinez’s absence. We agree. A FIGA stay under Section 631.67 applies not just to an individual party, but to the proceeding itself....
...1st DCA 1995); see also Willard v. Davis, 881 S.W.2d 907 (Tex.Ct.App.Fort Worth 1994) (a stay of all proceedings in a medical malpractice claim is required even though the insolvent carrier covered only one of several healthcare providers involved in the suit). Section 631.67 states that “all” proceedings shall be stayed when an insurance carrier becomes insolvent....
...eaning of words. See Suddath Van Lines v. State Dep’t of Envt. Prot.,
668 So.2d 209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Specialty Restaurants Corp. v. City of Miami,
501 So.2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). We find that the plain and ordinary of meaning of “all” in Section
631.67, as defined in the dictionary, clearly indicates that a stay should have been granted for the entire proceeding....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 10894, 2002 WL 1769007
...When the insurance carrier was declared insolvent and an order of liquidation was entered, both Dr) Halili and his employer, Radiation Oncology Consultants, P.A., filed emergency motions for stay of the medical malpractice action pursuant to the automatic stay provision of section 631.67, Florida Statutes (2001)....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1997 Fla. App. LEXIS 4004, 1997 WL 185606
...Statutes the automatic stay provision only applies to claims pursued against the insolvent insurer and not against the employer." Although the order did not specify which stay provision was being invoked, it is undisputed that the stay provision in section 631.67, Florida Statutes, is not relevant to this case because self-insurance funds were expressly excluded from that provision....
