Legislature Does Not Intend for a Statute to Change the Common Law

In Corp. v. Hamilton, 740 So. 2d 1189, 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), the Fourth District held that "a long line of Florida case law holds that the legislative history of a statute is irrelevant where the wording of a statute is clear." Hamilton, 740 So. 2d at 1195-96. The Fourth District also relied on the rule of statutory construction that presumes that the Legislature does not intend for a statute to change the common law unless the statute is explicit and clear in that regard. See id. The Hamilton court noted that because causes of action for wrongful death did not exist at common law, all causes of action for wrongful death are created and controlled by the Wrongful Death Act. See id.