Crist v. Ervin

56 So. 3d 745, 2010 WL 4340822
Supreme Court of Florida·Decided November 4, 2010·No. Nos. SC10-1317, SC10-1319·Published·Cited by 33 cases

Opinion

POLSTON, J.

Appellants (collectively referred to as the State) argue that the trial court erred by ruling that statutes directing portions of civil filing fees to the general revenue fund are unconstitutional.1 We agree and reverse the trial court as explained below.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 3, 2010, the trial court granted summary judgment and declared unconstitutional sections of the Florida Statutes that direct portions of civil action filing fees to the general revenue fund. Specifically, the trial court ruled that provisions of sections 28.24(1)(a), 28.241(a)(2)(d), 28.241(2), 34.041(1)(b), and 28.2455, Florida Statutes (2009), are unconstitutional and void.

The trial court concluded that, through these statutes, the Legislature has imposed an unconstitutional tax because litigants’ filing fees are sent to the general revenue fund to be spent on unrelated [747]*747government activities. The trial court stated that it is of no consequence that the Legislature appropriates to the courts an amount greater than the amount generated by the first $80.00 of the filing fees. The trial court explained that “[t]he Legislature is simply taxing one group of citizens and spending the money on unrelated governmental activities, which is illegal and unconstitutional.” Citing Flood v. State ex rel. Homeland Co., 95 Fla. 1003, 117 So. 385 (1928), and Farabee v. Board of Trustees, 254 So.2d 1 (Fla.1971), the trial court determined that depositing a portion of the filing fees into the general revenue fund denies access to the courts. The trial court order also stated that the provisions at issue “deny the citizens of this state the right to have their courts adequately funded, in violation of Article V, Section 14 and the due process, equal protection, [and] right to jury trial guarantees ... accorded under the Florida Constitution.” The trial court severed the offending provisions, enjoined the State from enforcing them, and ordered the State to “ensure that the injunction is reflected in the financial operations of this state.”

II. UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX DENYING ACCESS TO COURTS

The trial court ruled that statutes directing portions of civil filing fees to the general revenue fund are an unconstitutional tax denying access to courts. The Appellees argue that the trial court’s ruling is correct because the statutes are unconstitutional both facially and as applied. The State asserts that the statutes are facially constitutional because there is a set of circumstances whereby the statutes can be constitutional, namely if the Legislature appropriates more to the costs of the administration of justice than the amount of civil filing fees deposited into the general revenue fund. Moreover, the State argues that the statutes are constitutional as applied because the Legislature has in fact appropriated more to support the administration of justice than the amount of fees deposited into the general revenue fund. We agree with the State. Directing a portion of the filing fees to the general revenue fund for further appropriation is an accounting mechanism reasonably related to the governmental purpose of funding the administration of justice. See Lane v. Chiles, 698 So.2d 260, 262 (Fla.1997) (“Generally, a state statute must be upheld if it meets the rational relationship test; that is, if there is any reasonable relationship between the act and the furtherance of a valid governmental objective.” (quoting trial court’s order)).

A. Facial Constitutional Challenge

The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law subject to de novo review. See City of Miami v. McGrath, 824 So.2d 143, 146 (Fla.2002). “While we review decisions striking state statutes de novo, we are obligated to accord legislative acts a presumption of constitutionality and to construe challenged legislation to effect a constitutional outcome whenever possible.” Fla. Dep’t of Revenue v. City of Gainesville, 918 So.2d 250, 256 (Fla.2005) (quoting Fla. Dep’t of Revenue v. Howard, 916 So.2d 640, 642 (Fla.2005)). Further, “in a facial constitutional challenge, we determine only whether there is any set of circumstances under which the challenged enactment might be upheld.” Id. at 265. “If any state of facts, known or to be assumed, justify the law, the court’s power of inquiry ends.” State v. Bales, 343 So.2d 9, 11 (Fla.1977).

Article I, section 21 of the Florida Constitution provides that “[t]he courts shall be open to every person for redress of any injury, and justice shall be administered without sale, denial or delay.” The statutory provisions at issue transfer a portion [748]*748of civil filing fees paid by litigants in circuit courts, county courts, and appellate courts into the general revenue fund. See §§ 28.241(l)(a)l.a.; 28.241(l)(a)2.d.; 28.241(2), Fla. Stat. (2009) ($80 of each civil litigant’s filing fee in circuit court and appellate courts must be deposited into the general revenue fund); § 34.041(l)(b), Fla. Stat. (2009) (“The first $80 of the filing fee collected [for civil actions in county court] under subparagraph (a)4. shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.”); § 28.2455, Fla. Stat. (2009) (ordering annual transfer of any funds in excess of amount needed for clerks’ budgets from the clerks of court trust fund to the general revenue fund).

In State v. City of Pori Orange, 650 So.2d 1, 3 (Fla.1994) (citing City of Boca Raton v. State, 595 So.2d 25 (Fla.1992)), this Court defined a tax as “an enforced burden imposed by sovereign right for the support of the government, the administration of law, and the exercise of various functions the sovereign is called on to perform.” In contrast, we defined user fees as “charges based upon the proprietary right of the governing body permitting the use of the instrumentality involved. Such fees share common traits that distinguish them from taxes:”

they are charged in exchange for a particular governmental service which benefits the party paying the fee in a manner not shared by other members of society; and they are paid by choice, in that the party paying the fee has the option of not utilizing the governmental service and thereby avoiding the charge.

Port Orange, 650 So.2d at 3 (citations omitted).

In Flood, we addressed whether a statute establishing a docket fee to be used for a law library and other general county purposes was an invalid tax on litigants. The statute provided that each plaintiff in a circuit court had to pay a docket fee of $10, which was to be deposited into a special fund for establishing and maintaining a law library in the county. Flood,, 117 So. at 386. The statute also provided that “any balance remaining thereafter [was] to be used and applied as said board [of county commissioners] may from time to time deem best for general county purposes.” Id. (quoting ch. 12004, Laws of Fla. (1927)). We concluded that the fee was a tax repugnant to the right of access to courts contained in Florida’s Constitution, reasoning as follows:

It is clear that to call this a fee is a misnomer. It is a tax levied and collected for a county purpose, if the establishment of a law library may be considered a county purpose. No part of the so-called fee is appropriated for the payment of any services rendered by the clerk rendering the service in the case.

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Crist v. Ervin, 56 So. 3d 745, 2010 WL 4340822 (Fla. 2010).

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