Courtelis Co. v. Department of Transportation

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Courtelis Co. v. Department of Transportation

415 So. 2d 826, 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 20360

CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida

DecidedJune 22, 1982

DocketNo. 81-1609

StatusPublished

Cited by3 cases

This text of 415 So. 2d 826 (Courtelis Co. v. Department of Transportation) 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.

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Courtelis Co. v. Department of Transportation, 415 So. 2d 826, 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 20360 (Fla. Ct. App. 1982).

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Opinion

JORGENSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final administrative order of the Department of Transpor[827]*827tation which required the Courtelis Company, appellant here, to remove an outdoor advertising sign which the Department alleged was not in conformity with certain provisions of Florida Statutes and Rules of the Department. We reverse.

Following a notice of violation, Courtelis Company requested an administrative hearing, pursuant to Section 120.57, Florida Statutes (1979), which occurred on February 4, 1981. The hearing officer issued his recommended order on March 3, 1981.¹ On June 22, 1981, 111 days after the recommended order, the Department of Transportation entered its final order overruling the recommendations of the hearing officer and ordered removal of the sign.² The Department’s final order is a violation of the mandatory 90-day requirement of Section 120.-59(l)(b). Coincident with appellant’s receipt of the final order (three days after it was entered), the Department of Transportation removed the sign by sawing it down.

We need go no further than Hyman v. State, Department of Business Regulation, 399 So.2d 1098 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), where the court held “... that a violation of this mandatory requirement per se renders unenforceable an agency order in a proceeding in which the agency is the protagonist .... ” Clearly, the Department of Transportation is the protagonist here and Hy-man, supra, is controlling. We, accordingly, reverse the final order under review and remand to the Department with directions to reinstate the recommended order of the hearing officer. Section 120.68(9Xb), Florida Statutes (1979).

Reversed and remanded with directions.

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JORGENSON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final administrative order of the Department of Transpor[827]*827tation which required the Courtelis Company, appellant here, to remove an outdoor advertising sign which the Department alleged was not in conformity with certain provisions of Florida Statutes and Rules of the Department. We reverse.

Following a notice of violation, Courtelis Company requested an administrative hearing, pursuant to Section 120.57, Florida Statutes (1979), which occurred on February 4, 1981. The hearing officer issued his recommended order on March 3, 1981.¹ On June 22, 1981, 111 days after the recommended order, the Department of Transportation entered its final order overruling the recommendations of the hearing officer and ordered removal of the sign.² The Department’s final order is a violation of the mandatory 90-day requirement of Section 120.-59(l)(b). Coincident with appellant’s receipt of the final order (three days after it was entered), the Department of Transportation removed the sign by sawing it down.

We need go no further than Hyman v. State, Department of Business Regulation, 399 So.2d 1098 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), where the court held “... that a violation of this mandatory requirement per se renders unenforceable an agency order in a proceeding in which the agency is the protagonist .... ” Clearly, the Department of Transportation is the protagonist here and Hy-man, supra, is controlling. We, accordingly, reverse the final order under review and remand to the Department with directions to reinstate the recommended order of the hearing officer. Section 120.68(9Xb), Florida Statutes (1979).

Reversed and remanded with directions.

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415 So. 2d 826, 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 20360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/courtelis-co-v-department-of-transportation-fladistctapp-1982.

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