City of North Bay Village v. City of Miami Beach

365 So. 2d 389, 1978 Fla. App. LEXIS 17126
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 17, 1978
DocketNos. 77-1962, 77-1963 and 77-1964
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 365 So. 2d 389 (City of North Bay Village v. City of Miami Beach) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of North Bay Village v. City of Miami Beach, 365 So. 2d 389, 1978 Fla. App. LEXIS 17126 (Fla. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

KEHOE, Judge.

Appellants, plaintiffs below, bring these consolidated appeals from a final summary judgment in favor of appellee, defendant below. Among the several points raised on appeal by appellants and on cross-appeal by appellee is one which requires reversal.

The pertinent facts in this matter may be summarized as follows: Appellants’ complaint for declaratory judgment and injunction alleges that they purchased their water from the City of Miami Beach which in turn purchases the water from the Metro-Dade Water & Sewer Authority under a written contract between the City of Miami Beach and the predecessor of the Authority. There is no contract between appellants and the City of Miami Beach, but appellants have been adjudicated to be third party beneficiaries of the contract between the City of Miami Beach and the predecessor of the Authority. City of Miami Beach v. City of North Bay Village, 313 So.2d 126 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975).

The City of Miami Beach set the rates for the water it obtained from the Authority, and in turn sold it to Appellants. City of Miami Beach Ordinance No. 1936, enacted [390]*390October 1, 1972, raised the rates from 25 cents to 33 cents per thousand gallons. This raise of rates was the subject of the action cited above, 313 So.2d 126. The judgment in that action held that the raised rates were invalid, but that the City of Miami Beach could affect a change of rates, after a hearing, based on reasonable cost of the water. Pending the outcome of the litigation, pursuant to the court order, appellants deposited the 8 cents difference between 25 cents and 33 cents in an approved escrow account.

On September 3, 1975, the Board of County Commissioners of Metropolitan Dade County adopted Ordinance No. 75-68 giving the Metro Dade Water & Sewer Board authority over water rates imposed by a municipality supplying water to another municipality. Although the complaint alleged that the Board’s ordinance was held void by the Circuit Court, that judgment has been reversed by this court holding that the ordinance is valid. State v. Metropolitan Dade County Water and Sewer Board, 347 So.2d 699 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977) (cert. pending). Beginning on September 3, 1975, after the passage of this Ordinance, the City of Miami Beach held a hearing to determine the water rate to be charged appellants. Thereafter, on October 1, 1975, the City of Miami Beach passed an ordinance providing for a rate of 48 cents (all rates are per one thousand gallons) consisting of 41 cents representing reasonable cost of water and 7 cents representing retroactive payments to be charged appellants. The effective rate to this point had been 25 cents with appellants paying 8 cents into an agreed upon escrow account to cover the difference between 25 cents and 33 cents, the 33 cent rate having been declared void and later repealed on October 1, 1975.

On December 17, 1975, the City of Miami Beach passed Resolution No. 75-14904 described as follows:

A RESOLUTION FINDING AND DETERMINING, PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER, THAT 48 CENT RATE PER 1,000. GALLONS WATER IS A FAIR AND REASONABLE RATE TO BE CHARGED BY THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH TO OUTSIDE MUNICIPAL CUSTOMERS: AND DIRECTING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO TAKE NECESSARY LEGAL ACTION TO COLLECT ESCROW FUNDS, AND TO OBTAIN A JUDGMENT FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 33 CENT RATE AND 48 CENT RATE FROM OCTOBER 1, 1972 to NOVEMBER 1, 1975

This Resolution was never acted upon. Subsequently, on October 20, 1976, the City of Miami Beach passed Ordinance No. 76-2078 setting a retroactive rate of 43 cents for water delivered to appellants for the period from October 1, 1972 (when the rate was raised from 25 cents to 33 cents) to September 30, 1975 (the 48 cent rate was supposed to be effective October 1, 1975). It is this latter Ordinance which is the subject of the instant case. The complaint alleged that it was arbitrary, unreasonable, and void; and sought a declaratory judgment holding that it was void and that the water rates be determined by the Miami Dade Water & Sewer Board.

The City of Miami Beach filed an answer admitting passage of the various water rates and denying other material allegations of the complaint. Affirmative defenses not material to this appeal were also interposed. The City of Miami Beach also filed a counterclaim for judgment against North Bay Village and Village of Bal Harb-our for the water used from October 1, 1972, to September 30, 1975, at the 43 cent rate.

The City of Miami Beach made a motion for summary judgment and appellants made a countermotion for summary judgment. Appellants also made a motion to dismiss the counterclaim of the City of Miami Beach on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to enforce the 43 cent rate without complying with Dade County Ordinance 75-68 and because, under the law of the case, the City of Miami Beach could not increase its rates retroactively beyond 33 cents per one thousand gallons.

The City of Miami Beach’s motion for summary judgment was granted by the tri[391]*391al court and it was awarded a judgment of $267,246.37 against North Bay Village, and $250,535.71 against Village of Bal Harbour (Bay Harbor Islands shares its cost of water with Bal Harbour). From the final summary judgment in favor of appellee, appellants bring these consolidated appeals.

One of the basic points made by appellants is that the trial court erred in ruling that the Metro Dade County Water & Sewer Board lacked jurisdiction under Dade County Ordinance No. 75-68 to supervise the water rates charged by the City of Miami Beach to appellants in the sale of water outside its geographical city limits for the period of October 1, 1972 through September 2, 1975. The trial court in making its ruling stated in its final summary judgment as follows:

“A. The City Council of the City of Miami Beach conducted the water rate hearings involved in this cause pursuant to this Court’s Final Judgment and the Opinion and Decision of the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District, which specifically recognized that the rates set by the City Council would be for a retroactive period beginning October 1, 1972. Although Dade County Ordinance 75-68 was adopted prior to the time that the hearings of the City of Miami Beach were actually conducted, a fair reading of that County Ordinance reflects that a retroactive affect does not clearly appear from the Ordinance and, therefore, should not be implied. Dade County v. Federal National Mortgage Association, 161 So.2d 255 (Fla. 3 DCA, 1964); Heberle v. P.R.O. Liquidating Company, 186 So.2d 280 (Fla. [App.] 1st Dist. 1966); 30 Fla.Jur.Statutes, Sec. 151. Since the basis for the retrospective interpretations suggested by Plaintiffs is not unequivocal and since there is no indication contained within the Ordinance of any legislative intent that said County Ordinance should be construed to have a retroactive operation, there is no basis to support Plaintiffs’ suggestion that the Metropolitan Dade County Water & Sewer Board had jurisdiction to set rates for the period of time from October 1, 1972 through September 2,1975. The Court is aware of the recent Opinion of the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District in the case of State of Florida ex rel. City of Miami Beach, etc. v. Metropolitan Dade County Water & Sewer Board, etc., [347] So.2d [699] (Fla. 3 DCA, Case Nos. 76-269, 76-1370, 76-1276 [1977]) wherein the Court declared that Dade County Ordinance No.

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Bluebook (online)
365 So. 2d 389, 1978 Fla. App. LEXIS 17126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-north-bay-village-v-city-of-miami-beach-fladistctapp-1978.