Opinion
No. 54013.
March 8, 1979.
Appeal from Circuit Court, Manatee County; Grissim H. Walker, Judge.
Larry D. Beltz of McQuillan Beltz, Bradenton, for appellants.
Douglas P. Lawless of Dickinson, O'Riorden, Gibbons, Quale, Shields Carlton, Sarasota; and Charles P. Schropp of Shackleford, Farrior, Stallings Evans, Tampa, for appellees.
Reversed. See Markert v. Johnston, 367 So.2d 1003 (Fla. 1978).
ENGLAND, C.J., and BOYD, OVERTON, SUNDBERG, HATCHETT and ALDERMAN, JJ., concur.
ADKINS, J., concurs specially with an opinion.
I agree that the decision in this case is governed by Markert v. Johnston, 367 So.2d 1003 (Fla. 1978). I did not participate in Markert and disagree with the result.
If the right to join the insurance carrier as a party defendant had been established by rule of court, the legislature could repeal the rule by general law enacted by two-thirds vote of the members of each house of the legislature. Art. V, sec. 2(a), Fla. Const. We have circumvented this constitutional right of the legislature by adopting this rule of procedure through a decision of the Court instead of exercising our rule-making authority.
When this occurs and the legislature enacts a statute contrary to case law, I believe the statute should prevail if enacted by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.
However, I am bound by the decision of my colleagues and for that reason I concur in the result therein.