Dearrell Williams v. Florida Department of Corrections

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Dearrell Williams v. Florida Department of Corrections

248 So. 3d 246

CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida

DecidedMay 25, 2018

Docket17-4833

StatusPublished

This text of 248 So. 3d 246 (Dearrell Williams v. Florida Department of Corrections) 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

Dearrell Williams v. Florida Department of Corrections, 248 So. 3d 246 (Fla. Ct. App. 2018).

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Opinion

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

No. 1D17-4833 _____________________________

DEARRELL WILLIAMS,

Appellant,

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Appellee. _____________________________

On appeal from the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Michelle Wilson, Executive Director.

May 25, 2018

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, Dearrell Williams, appeals a Notice of Dismissal of her charge of discrimination filed under Florida’s Whistleblower’s Act. We agree with Appellant that the Florida Commission on Human Relations erred in dismissing her charge as being untimely when it was filed on Monday, July 3, 2017, the first weekday following the Saturday on which the pertinent sixty-day filing period ended. See Fla. Admin. Code R. 60Y-2.006 (“The mission and duties of the Commission [on Human Relations] are carried out pursuant to statutory authority delineated in Chapter 760, F.S. The following additional statutory chapters and rule chapters directly affect and govern the operations of the Commission: . . . (5) Chapters 28-101 through 28-106, 28-108, 28-109, F.A.C.”); Fla. Admin. Code. R. 28-106.103 (“In computing any period of time allowed by this chapter, by order of a presiding officer, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act from which the period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.” (Emphasis added)). In agreeing with Appellant, we find the reliance Appellee, the Department of Corrections, places upon Florida Administrative Code Rule 60Y-5.001(3) to be misplaced. That rule, which provides in part that any document received by the clerk or other agent of the Commission after 5:00 p.m. shall be filed as of 8:00 a.m. on the next regular business day, does not address a situation where the last day of the pertinent filing period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.

Accordingly, we REVERSE the Notice of Dismissal and REMAND for further proceedings.

LEWIS, MAKAR, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________

Marie A. Mattox, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Kenneth S. Steely, General Counsel, M. Lilja Dandelake, Assistant General Counsel, Department of Corrections, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

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FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

No. 1D17-4833 _____________________________

DEARRELL WILLIAMS,

Appellant,

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Appellee. _____________________________

On appeal from the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Michelle Wilson, Executive Director.

May 25, 2018

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, Dearrell Williams, appeals a Notice of Dismissal of her charge of discrimination filed under Florida’s Whistleblower’s Act. We agree with Appellant that the Florida Commission on Human Relations erred in dismissing her charge as being untimely when it was filed on Monday, July 3, 2017, the first weekday following the Saturday on which the pertinent sixty-day filing period ended. See Fla. Admin. Code R. 60Y-2.006 (“The mission and duties of the Commission [on Human Relations] are carried out pursuant to statutory authority delineated in Chapter 760, F.S. The following additional statutory chapters and rule chapters directly affect and govern the operations of the Commission: . . . (5) Chapters 28-101 through 28-106, 28-108, 28-109, F.A.C.”); Fla. Admin. Code. R. 28-106.103 (“In computing any period of time allowed by this chapter, by order of a presiding officer, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act from which the period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.” (Emphasis added)). In agreeing with Appellant, we find the reliance Appellee, the Department of Corrections, places upon Florida Administrative Code Rule 60Y-5.001(3) to be misplaced. That rule, which provides in part that any document received by the clerk or other agent of the Commission after 5:00 p.m. shall be filed as of 8:00 a.m. on the next regular business day, does not address a situation where the last day of the pertinent filing period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.

Accordingly, we REVERSE the Notice of Dismissal and REMAND for further proceedings.

LEWIS, MAKAR, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________

Marie A. Mattox, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Kenneth S. Steely, General Counsel, M. Lilja Dandelake, Assistant General Counsel, Department of Corrections, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

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Bluebook (online)

248 So. 3d 246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dearrell-williams-v-florida-department-of-corrections-fladistctapp-2018.