627.021(2) Florida Statutes - Interpretation

In National Corporacion Venezolana, S.A. v. M/V Manaure V, 511 So. 2d 968, 970-71 (Fla. 1987) the Court addressed the question of whether section 627.021(2)(c), Florida Statutes (1983), excluded marine insurance from section 627.7262, which is the section that generally provides that a third party must obtain a judgment against an insured-tortfeasor before filing a direct action against an insurer. See 511 So. 2d 968, 969 (Fla. 1987). Section 627.021(2) appears in part I of chapter 627, whereas section 627.7262 appears in part XI of chapter 627. See id. at 969-71. The Court held in Manaure V that while section 627.021(2) uses the language "this chapter does not apply to," the Legislature actually intended for the word "chapter" to refer to "Chapter 16 'Rates and Rating Organizations.'" Id. However, when the Statutory Revision Department prepared Florida's newly enacted Insurance Code for placement in the Florida Statutes, it renamed and renumbered "Chapter 16 'Rates and Rating Organizations,'" as "Part I 'Rates and Rating Organizations.'" Id. Thus, the Legislature only intended for the exclusionary provisions of section 627.021(2) to apply to "Part I 'Rates and Rating Organizations,'" not chapter 627 as a whole. Id. The Statutory Revision Department simply neglected to amend the word "chapter," referring to the original "Chapter 16 'Rates and Rating Organizations,'" to read "part," so that particular section would correctly refer to the renamed and renumbered "Part I 'Rates and Rating Organizations.'" Id.