631.154 Funds, assets, or other property in the possession of third person.—
(1) If the receiver determines that funds, assets, or property in the possession of another person are rightfully the property of the estate, the receiver shall deliver to such person a written demand for immediate delivery of the funds, assets, or property to the receiver, referencing this section by number, referencing the court and docket number of the receivership action, and notifying the person that any claim of right to the funds, assets, or property by her or him must be presented to the court within 20 days after the date of the written demand. Any person who holds funds, assets, or other property belonging to an entity placed in receivership under this chapter shall deliver the funds, assets, or other property to the receiver on demand. Should the person allege any right to retain the funds, assets, or other property pursuant to s. 631.155, s. 631.191, s. 631.261, s. 631.262, s. 631.263, or s. 631.281, a pleading setting out the right shall be filed with the court within 20 days after the receipt of the receiver’s demand that the funds, assets, or property be delivered to the receiver. The person shall serve a copy of the pleading on the receiver. The pleading of the person shall inform the court as to the nature of the claim to the property, the alleged value of the assets or property, or the amount of funds held, and what action has been taken by the person to preserve and protect the assets or property or to preserve any funds pending determination of the dispute.
(2) If requested by the receiver, a hearing shall be held to determine where and under what conditions the property, assets, or funds shall be held by the person pending determination of the dispute. The court may impose conditions as it may deem necessary or appropriate for the preservation of the property until the court can determine the validity of the person’s claim to the property, assets, or funds. If any property, assets, or funds are allowed to remain in the possession of the person after demand made by the receiver, that person shall be strictly liable for any waste, loss, or damage of the property, assets, or funds retained.
(3) If a person has filed a pleading alleging any right to retain funds, assets, or property, the court shall hold a subsequent hearing to determine entitlement to the funds, assets, or property claimed by the receiver.
(4) If a person fails to file the pleading required by subsection (1) within the 20-day period, the court may, upon petition of the receiver and upon a copy of the petition being served by the petitioner to such person, issue its summary order directing the immediate delivery of the funds, assets, or property to the receiver and finding that the person has waived all claims of right to the funds, assets, or property.
(5) This section shall apply to all proceedings brought by the receiver to recover funds, assets, or property believed by the receiver under this chapter to be assets of the entity subject to an order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation. The receiver shall be exempt from the provisions of s. 57.111.
(6) Should the receiver be successful in establishing its claim or any part thereof, the receiver shall be entitled to recover judgment for the following:
(a) The property or its cash value as of the date of the order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation, whichever is applicable.
(b) Rental for the use of the property to run from the date of the order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation, whichever is applicable, to the date the property is delivered to the receiver.
(c) In the case of funds, interest at the statutory rate to run from the date of the order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation, whichever is applicable, to the date the funds are delivered to the receiver.
(d) All costs, investigative and other expenses, including, but not limited to, those for department staff, incurred in the recovery of the property, assets, or funds, and reasonable attorney’s fees. Department staff costs and expenses include staff salaries.
It is the intent of this section that a person found to be holding receivership assets fully reimburse the receiver for any and all efforts made to recover those assets.
District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Oct 30, 1990 | Docket: 1041574
Cited 11 times | Published
...In this case, CenTrust, acting as the insurer, made premium payments to itself. Premiums paid to an insurance company are not held in trust for the benefit of the insured, but are assets of the insurance company available to satisfy the insurance company's general debts. See Fla.Stat. § 631.154 (Supp.1990); Charles W....
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 16, 2008 | Docket: 1514704
Cited 8 times | Published
...e from American Superior and is payable to Imagine on November 2, 2004." On December 15, 2004, the circuit court entered an order appointing the Department as Receiver for purposes of liquidation. In response to a demand by the Receiver, pursuant to section 631.154, Florida Statutes, [*] Imagine asserted, in February 2005, a right to recover and retain its Non-Renewal Charge of $959,000, to be paid from the trust assets....
...Further, the funds in the trust account are not part of the receivership estate and Imagine is entitled to the Non-Renewal Charge, to be paid from that account. Accordingly, the order on appeal is REVERSED. Further disposition will be consistent with this opinion. VAN NORTWICK, and PADOVANO, JJ., concur. NOTES [*] Section 631.154(1), Florida Statutes (2004), addresses "[f]unds, assets, or other property in the possession of third person" and provides: "If the receiver determines that funds, assets, or property in the possession of another person are rightfully...
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 11, 1992 | Docket: 135999
Cited 6 times | Published
...Section 631.131(2) provides that an order to liquidate the Florida assets of a foreign insurer requires the department to take possession of and liquidate the insurer's Florida property "with due regard to the rights and powers of the domiciliary receiver." It was pursuant to these statutes and section 631.154 that the department sought to obtain possession of the escrow fund held by Intercontinental Bank. Section 631.154 provides in pertinent part: (1) Any person who holds funds or other property belonging to an entity subject to an order of ......
...While the department's position, based upon language in subsection (4), is initially appealing and would support the trial court's order with respect to the escrowed funds in this case, we are not persuaded that it is consistent with a common sense reading of section 631.154 as a whole....
...in receivership, but possessed by some other person. The *433 remainder of subsection (1) addresses situations where the person in possession of the insurer's property seeks to retain possession because he has some claim to the property of his own. Section 631.154(1)'s reference to the offset provisions of section 631.281 provides an example of just such a situation. See also, Sunset Commercial Bank v. Florida Dept. of Ins., 509 So.2d 366 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); and Barnett Bank of Jacksonville, N.A. v. State ex rel. Dept. of Ins., 507 So.2d 142 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), construing section 631.281. Subsection (2) of section 631.154 describes what the court must do if the receiver seeks to impose conditions upon the person in possession of the insurer's property pending the court's determination under subsection (3) of the validity of that person's claim....
...insurer. Based upon that language, we simply cannot ascribe to the legislature an intent to change the focus of the entire section which is, undoubtedly, upon property belonging to the insurer but in the possession of another. Our interpretation of section 631.154 is buttressed by numerous sections of the act which, like sections 631.152 and 631.131 discussed above, restrict the receiver's activities to recovering property of the insurer....
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 6, 2003 | Docket: 2147961
Cited 2 times | Published
...by the receiver to collect a debt owed to an insolvent insurance company, because it would be a claim at law. Yet even before the 2002 amendment, the statute provided that the court could resolve a claim such as this in a delinquency proceeding. See § 631.154, Fla....
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 13, 2010 | Docket: 1667107
Cited 1 times | Published
...In contrast, in the case concerning FCT, the bank sought enforcement of its rights as a secured creditor only. In both notices of claim, the bank requested that the trial court establish entitlement to the CDs, although the bank also indicated that its notices were offered as responses to a demand DFS had served under section 631.154, Florida Statutes (2009). The bank filed a notice of hearing in both cases referencing the notice of claim as the matter to be addressed. At about the same time as the bank filed its notices of claim, DFS filed an emergency motion pursuant to section 631.154(2), Florida Statutes (2009), in each case....
...ion with respect to the certificates pending the resolution of the ultimate issues which concern the validity of the encumbrances, and that would be pending a full period of discovery, expert analysis, and a trial on the merits as is contemplated in Section 631.154, Florida Statutes....
...Additionally, a trial court may not determine a litigant's entitlement to an offset where an offset has not been requested. Epic Metals Corp. v. Samari Lake E. Condo. Ass'n., Inc., 547 So.2d 198, 199 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). In the instant case, DFS invoked the procedure outlined in section 631.154, which provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (1) If the receiver determines that funds, assets, or property in the possession of another person are rightfully the property of the estate, the receiver shall deliver to such person a...
...funds is disputed. See id. First, if the receiver so requests, the trial court must hold a preliminary hearing to determine "where and under what conditions the ... funds shall be held" pending the ultimate determination of entitlement to the funds. § 631.154(2). Once the receiver invokes this procedure, the court must hold a "subsequent hearing" to decide the ultimate issue of entitlement. § 631.154(3)....
...Regardless of which legal basis the trial court found for granting the CDs to the bank, however, both of the orders on appeal are defective because they disposed of DFS's claim to the CDs before DFS received the full process to which it was entitled. *835 Under section 631.154(3), DFS was entitled to two hearings before the trial court determined the ultimate issue of entitlement to the CDs....
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 5, 1994 | Docket: 64749637
Published
*648out of a demand by the receiver pursuant to section 631.154, Florida Statutes, for return of funds of the
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