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The Florida Senate

2024 Florida Statutes

Title XXXVII INSURANCE
Chapter 631 INSURER INSOLVENCY; GUARANTY OF PAYMENT Entire Chapter
SECTION 021
Jurisdiction of delinquency proceeding; venue; change of venue; exclusiveness of remedy; appeal; construction.
F.S. 631.021
631.021 Jurisdiction of delinquency proceeding; venue; change of venue; exclusiveness of remedy; appeal; construction.—
(1) The circuit court shall have original jurisdiction of any delinquency proceeding under this chapter, and any court with jurisdiction is authorized to make all necessary or proper orders to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Any delinquency proceeding in this chapter is in equity.
(2) The venue of a delinquency proceeding or summary proceeding against a domestic, foreign, or alien insurer shall be in the Circuit Court of Leon County.
(3) A delinquency proceeding pursuant to this chapter constitutes the sole and exclusive method of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving an insurer. A court may not entertain a petition for the commencement of such a proceeding unless the petition has been filed in the name of the state on the relation of the department. The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Incorporated, the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association, Incorporated, the Florida Health Maintenance Organization Consumer Assistance Plan, and the Florida Life and Health Guaranty Association, Incorporated, shall be given reasonable written notice by the department of all hearings that pertain to an adjudication of insolvency of a member insurer.
(4) An appeal shall lie to the District Court of Appeal, First District, from an order granting or refusing rehabilitation, liquidation, or conservation and from every order in a delinquency proceeding having the character of a final order as to the particular portion of the proceeding embraced therein.
(5) No service of process against the department in its capacity as receiver shall be effective unless served upon a person designated by the receiver and filed with the circuit court having jurisdiction over the delinquency proceeding. The designated person shall refuse to accept service if acceptance would violate a stay against legal proceedings involving an insurer that is the subject of delinquency proceedings or would violate any orders of the circuit court governing a delinquency proceeding. The person denied service may petition the circuit court having jurisdiction over the delinquency proceeding for relief from the receiver’s refusal to accept service. This subsection shall be strictly construed, and any purported service on the receiver or the department that is not in accordance with this subsection shall be null and void.
(6) The domiciliary court acquiring jurisdiction over persons subject to this chapter may exercise exclusive jurisdiction to the exclusion of all other courts, except as limited by the provisions of this chapter. Upon the issuance of an order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation, the Circuit Court of Leon County has exclusive jurisdiction over all assets or property of the insurer, wherever located, including property located outside the territorial limits of the state.
(7) This chapter constitutes this state’s insurer receivership laws, and these laws must be construed as consistent with each other. If there is a conflict between this chapter and any other law, this chapter prevails.
History.—s. 718, ch. 59-205; s. 29, ch. 63-559; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 8, ch. 77-227; s. 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 3, ch. 83-38; s. 1, ch. 85-339; s. 6, ch. 89-360; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 11, ch. 97-262; s. 1341, ch. 2003-261; s. 28, ch. 2004-374; s. 2, ch. 2017-143.