468.396 Claims against a single licensee in excess of dollar limitation; joinder of claims, payment; insufficient funds. - Florida Statutes

468.396 Claims against a single licensee in excess of dollar limitation; joinder of claims, payment; insufficient funds.

   (1) If the payment in full of two or more pending valid claims that have been filed by aggrieved persons against a single licensee would exceed the $50,000 limit as set forth in s. 468.395, the $50,000 shall be distributed among the aggrieved persons in the ratio that their respective claims bear to the aggregate of all valid claims or in any other manner that a court of record may determine to be equitable. Such money shall be distributed among the persons entitled to share in it without regard to the order of priority in which their respective judgments have been obtained or their claims have been filed.

   (2) Upon petition of the board, the court may require all claimants and prospective claimants against one licensee to be joined in one action, to the end that the respective rights of all the claimants to the board may be equitably adjudicated and settled.

   (3) On June 30 and December 31 of each year, the board shall identify each claim that the court orders to be paid during the 6-month period that ended on that day. The board shall pay the part of each claim that is so identified within 15 days after the end of the 6-month period in which the claim is ordered paid. However, if the balance in the fund is insufficient to pay the full payable amount of each claim that is ordered to be paid during a 6-month period, the board shall pay a prorated portion of each claim that is ordered to be paid during the period. Any part of the payable amount of a claim left unpaid due to the prorating of payments under this subsection shall be paid, subject to the $50,000 limit described in s. 468.395, before the payment of claims ordered to be paid during the following 6 months.

History. ss. 12, 17, ch. 91-207; s. 4, ch. 91-429.