Florida Carry, Inc. v. University of Florida

180 So. 3d 137, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 16115, 2015 WL 6567665
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 30, 2015
DocketNo. 1D14-4614
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 180 So. 3d 137 (Florida Carry, Inc. v. University of Florida) 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
Florida Carry, Inc. v. University of Florida, 180 So. 3d 137, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 16115, 2015 WL 6567665 (Fla. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

LEWIS, J.

Appellant, Florida Carry, Inc., appeals the trial court’s “Order Partially Granting and Partially Denying Motion to Dismiss; Summary Judgment of Dismissal of Motor Vehicle Claims; and Summary Judgment for Defendants on Housing Claims.” Appellant raises three issues on appeal: (1) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees, the University of Florida (“UF”) and Bernie Ma-chen, UF’s President at the time Appellant’s lawsuit was filed, on the basis that Appellees are not violating Florida law by prohibiting the possession of firearms in housing located on university property; (2) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in Appellees’ favor on the basis that there was no actual case or controversy in need of adjudication with respect to Appellant’s claim that UF’s policies as to the'possession of firearms in vehicles located on university property violated our opinion in Florida Carry, Inc. v. University of North Florida, 133 So.3d 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) (eri banc) (“UNF decision”)1; and (3) the trial court erred in granting in part Appellee Machen’s motion to dismiss on the basis that Appellee Ma-chen is immune from liability for damages pursuant to sections 768.28(9)(a) and 790.33, Florida Statutes (2013). As for the second issue, we agree with the trial court’s determination that no case or controversy existed with respect to Appellant’s motor vehicle claim as there was no evidence that UF attempted to enforce or enact any policy or regulation contrary to our interpretation of law in the UNF decision, ; but instead added language to its regulation concerning firearms on campus, stating that.UF would comply with Florida law governing firearms in vehicles. We, therefore, affirm as to that issue without further , comment. For the following reasons, we also reject Appellant’s first and third arguments and affirm as to those issues as, well.

Factual History

On January 10, 2014, Appellant, a nonprofit corporation whose members “seek to [140]*140protect and exercise their- right to keep and bear arms,” filed a Complaint against Appellees, challenging UF’s prohibition of firearms in university housing and certain policies which, according to Appellant, prohibited firearms in vehicles parked on UF’s property. On February 21, 2014, Appellant filed a First Amended Complaint against Appellees, alleging . five counts. In Count I, Appellant alleged that UF violated section 790.33, Florida Statutes, in which the Legislature declared its occupation of the “whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition” in Florida. Appellant further alleged, that the Florida Constitution reserves to the Legislature the exclusive authority to regulate the manner of bearing arms, that UF had passed rules or regulations expressly prohibited by section 790.33, that section 790.25(3)(n), Florida Statutes (2013), provides that a person may possess a firearm in his or her home or place of business, and that section 790.115, Florida Statutes (2013), which prohibits firearms on school property with certain exceptions, is in conflict 'with section 790.25(3)(n). Appellant sought an award of damages, an injunction against the enforcement of any firearms rules or regulations by UF other than those contained in chapter 790, an order to remove any university rule or regulation regarding firearms from any university publication except as specifically provided for employees by chapter 790, an order repealing all preempted and unauthorized Florida Administrative Code regulations regarding the possession of firearms on campus, and attorney’s fees and costs.

In Count II, Appellant asserted á violation of section 790.33 by Appellee Machen, alleging that Machen, as the chief administrative officer of UF, passed, authorized, and/or allowed the passage of rules or regulations expressly prohibited by section 790.33. Appellant sought essentially the same relief as it sought in Count I.

In Count III, Appellant sought a declaratory judgment, alleging that UF’s rules, regulations, and/or policies that prohibit the possession of arms in university housing “negate[d] the very purpose of the Constitutional right guaranteed by Florida’s Constitution.” Appellant further alleged that nothing in the Florida Constitution or the laws enacted by the Legislature regarding the manner of bearing arms allows a state agency to prohibit .the possession of arms in a person’s home. Appellant requested that the trial court find that UF’s rules, policies, and regulations violated the constitutional rights of persons living in UF-owned housing, declare that' UF’s rules, policies, and regulations were unconstitutional, and require the repeal of all rules, policies, and regulations prohibiting arms or rendering them useless for purposes of self-defense.

In Count IV, Appellant sought a declaratory judgment, requesting a ruling that UF’s rules and regulations, authorized and/or allowed by Appellee Machen, regarding firearms and weapons were expressly and impliedly preempted. Appellant further requested in part an order finding that UF’s rules and regulations regarding firearms were null and void and that persons residing in UF-owned housing had thé'right to possess, carry, and store firearms and weapons without the threat of criminal prosecution or administrative punishment.

' In Count V, Appellant sought an injunction and writ of mandamus; It alleged that the “Constitution and the laws of the state of Florida, protect the rights of the people to keep and bear operable- arms within their homes, regardless of ownership by a public entity.” Appellant again sought the repeal of “enjoined rules and regulations.”

[141]*141Appellees subsequently moved for summary judgment. As to Appellant’s housing claim, Appellees relied upon section 790.115, Florida Statutes, and the Legislature’s prohibition of firearms on school grounds. Appellee Machen also filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that he was immune from suit pursuant to section 768.28, Florida Statutes. During the hearing on the motions, Appellees’ counsel argued that although Appellant cited District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 128 S.Ct. 2783, 171 L.Ed.2d 637 (2008), a United States Supreme Court case addressing a firearm prohibition in homes, in its memorandum filed in opposition to the summary judgment motion, it had not alleged a Second Amendment violation under the United States Constitution. While noting that Appellees were not disputing “whether or not campus housing includes a home within the meaning” of section 790.25(3)(n), Appellees’ counsel argued that section 790.115 governed the issue at hand and clearly prohibited firearms anywhere on school property with the limited exceptions set forth in the statute.

In the order at issue on appeal, the trial court first addressed Appellee Machen’s motion to dismiss and concluded that Ma-chen was immune from Appellant’s damages claim under section 768.28(9)(a), Florida Statutes. It further determined that section 790.33 would not alter Machen’s immunity from a damages claim since “it only permits limited damages claims against the agency itself, not against the agency head.” As for whether Machen had immunity from a claim for civil fines under section 790.33, the trial court determined that that issue was not ripe for determination because a proper claim for such damages had not been made. It concluded that neither section 768.28 nor organic law provided Machen with immunity from declaratory and injunctive relief.

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Bluebook (online)
180 So. 3d 137, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 16115, 2015 WL 6567665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/florida-carry-inc-v-university-of-florida-fladistctapp-2015.