Administrative Law

As many legal practitioners are aware, the failure to provide an appellate court with a transcript of the lower court proceeding will often lead to an affirmance.  Appellate courts routinely cite the infamous Applegate case, when affirming for lack of a transcript.  Applegate v. Barnett Bank of Tallahassee, 377 So. 2d 1150, 1152 (Fla. 1979).…

Under the home venue privilege, “venue in civil actions brought against the state or one of its agencies or subdivisions, absent waiver or exception, properly lies in the county where the state, agency, or subdivision, maintains its principal headquarters.”  Carlile v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm’n, 354 So. 2d 362, 363-64 (Fla. 1977). The…

The administrative procedure act under chapter 120, Florida Statutes, has several attorneys’ fee provisions.  One such provision is provided under section 120.595(1), Florida Statutes. Under that statute, a litigant can move for attorneys’ fees whenever they believe the “non-prevailing adverse party” participated in the proceeding for an improper purpose.  § 120.595(1)(b), Fla. Stat.  An improper…

When appealing final agency action in Florida, certain documents are automatically included in the record on appeal.  Section 120.68(5), Florida Statutes, provides the starting point, stating that “[t]he record for judicial review shall be compiled in accordance with the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.” Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.190(c)(2) then discusses all documents included…

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.110(c) provides that notices appealing final agency action must be filed with the lower administrative tribunal clerk and the applicable DCA clerk. Although Rule 9.110(c) requires the notice be served with the administrative tribunal clerk, a common problem with administrative appeals is determining the clerk’s address.  Many times, an agency’s…

When appealing a final agency order in Florida, you must be aware of certain procedural aspects unique to administrative appeals. First, with limited exception, the appealing party can choose where to file the appeal:  the District Court of Appeal where the agency is headquartered or the District Court of Appeal where the party resides.  §…

In a recent post, I discussed the Fifth DCA’s use of the “supremacy-of-text principle” to resolve statutory interpretation.  The Third DCA recently applied the principle to determine whether a county is a “county” or a “municipality” under section 112.3187(9)(f), Florida Statutes.  The case is Garavan v. Miami-Dade County. In the case, a former employee for…

Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion providing a good example of the “supremacy-of-text principle,” which is used by Florida courts when interpreting statutes. The case, The Kidwell Group, LLC v. ASI Preferred Insurance Corp., explains the textualism principle for statutory interpretation: “[t]he words of a governing text are of paramount concern,…

Most contracts contain a forum selection clause.  Such a clause allows contracting parties, in the event of a dispute, to “agree in advance to submit to the jurisdiction of a given court . . . .”  Nat’l Equip. Rental Ltd. v. Szukhent, 375 U.S. 311, 315-16 (1964). A forum selection clause may be permissive, meaning…

With limited exception, an agency order must be final before the order can be appealed to a District Court of Appeal.  § 120.68(1)(a), Fla. Stat.  An order is generally considered final when the order resolves the substantive controversy between the agency and the party challenging agency action.  Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Auth. v. Metro. Dade…