The Florida Senate

489.143  Payment from the fund.--

(1)  Any person who meets all of the conditions prescribed in s. 489.141(1) may apply to the board to cause payment to be made to such person from the Construction Industries Recovery Fund in an amount equal to the judgment or restitution order, exclusive of postjudgment interest, against the licensee or $25,000, whichever is less, or an amount equal to the unsatisfied portion of such person's judgment or restitution order, exclusive of postjudgment interest, or $25,000, whichever is less, but only to the extent and amount reflected in the judgment or restitution order as being actual or compensatory damages. The fund is not obligated to pay any judgment or restitution order, or any portion thereof, which is not expressly based on one of the grounds for recovery set forth in s. 489.140(1).

(2)  Upon receipt by a claimant under subsection (1) of payment from the Construction Industries Recovery Fund, the claimant shall assign his or her additional right, title, and interest in the judgment or restitution order, to the extent of such payment, to the board, and thereupon the board shall be subrogated to the right, title, and interest of the claimant; and any amount subsequently recovered on the judgment or restitution order by the board, to the extent of the right, title, and interest of the board therein, shall be for the purpose of reimbursing the Construction Industries Recovery Fund.

(3)  Payments for claims arising out of the same transaction shall be limited, in the aggregate, to $25,000, regardless of the number of claimants involved in the transaction.

(4)  Payments for claims against any one licensee shall not exceed, in the aggregate, $100,000 annually, up to a total aggregate of $250,000. Beginning January 1, 1998, for any claim approved by the board which is in excess of the annual cap, the amount in excess of $100,000 up to the total aggregate cap of $250,000 is eligible for payment in the next and succeeding fiscal years, but only after all claims for the then-current calendar year have been paid. Payments may not exceed the aggregate annual or per claimant limits under law.

(5)  Claims shall be paid in the order filed, up to the aggregate limits for each transaction and licensee and to the limits of the amount appropriated to pay claims against the fund for the fiscal year in which the claims were filed.

(6)  If the annual appropriation is exhausted with claims pending, such claims shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year. Any moneys in excess of pending claims remaining in the Construction Industries Recovery Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be paid as provided in s. 468.631

(7)  Upon the payment of any amount from the Construction Industries Recovery Fund in settlement of a claim in satisfaction of a judgment or restitution order against a licensee as described in s. 489.141(1), the license of such licensee shall be automatically suspended, without further administrative action, upon the date of payment from the fund. The license of such licensee shall not be reinstated until he or she has repaid in full, plus interest, the amount paid from the fund. A discharge of bankruptcy does not relieve a person from the penalties and disabilities provided in this section.

History.--s. 21, ch. 93-166; s. 267, ch. 94-119; s. 12, ch. 96-298; s. 73, ch. 96-388; s. 1131, ch. 97-103; s. 1, ch. 98-162; s. 34, ch. 98-419.