Ledwith v. City of Jacksonville

32 Fla. 1
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 32 Fla. 1 (Ledwith v. City of Jacksonville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ledwith v. City of Jacksonville, 32 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1893).

Opinion

Mabry, J.:

In September, A. I). 1889, the appellant, William M. Ledwith, filed a bill in the Circuit Court for Duval county against the city of Jacksonville, the city council and board of health of said city, to enjoin them from preventing him and his tenants from selling fresh meats and dressed poultry in a building situated on the east half of water lot number 10 in said city. The building is alleged- to be the property of appellant, and was constructed with the approval and sanction of said city, and had for some eight or nine years before the filing of the bill, been used as a public market for the sale of fresh meats and dressed poultry for the city of Jacksonville under contracts with said city, and the said building was at the time of filing this bill in every respect suitable for a public market, and in perfect sanitary condition. The bill specified the various particulars in which said building was suitable as a public market place, including adequate and necessary refrigerator accommodations, but it does not become necessary for the purposes of this decision to set them out here.

It is alleged that the city of Jacksonville and her said officers, acting under certain pretended ordinances attempted to be passed by said city, were daily arresting the tenants of appellant doing business at his said building, and had declared their purpose to drive them away and break up the vending of fresh meats thereat. The ordinances are alleged to be invalid for various reasons, both on account of defects on their [3]*3lace and on account of certain mentioned illegal objects and purposes designed to be accomplished by them. The court granted, on the prayer of the bill, .an injunction restraining the city and her officers, and .all persons acting or claiming to act by, through or under any of the defendants in the bill, from preventing the complainant therein, William M. Ledwith, his tenants, lessees* or any person authorized by him, to .sell fresh meat in said building; and from entering upon said building and preventing the use of the .same for the sale of fresh meat, or from denying to •complainant the right of renting and leasing space and stalls therein or any portion thereof for the sale of such meats; and from threatening, molesting, disturbing or annoying complainant’s tenants, lessees or any person or persons authorized by him in the sale •of fresh meats in said building; and from publicly proclaiming or declaring in the name of said city that complainant’s said building or any part thereof should not be used for the sale of fresh meats, until the further order of the court.

The respondents answered the bill, and therein relied upon the ordinances mentioned in the bill as authorizing and justifying their action in attempting to prevent the sale of fresh meat and dressed poultry in the said market building of complainant. The ordinances in question sought to establish a public market for the •city at a building on water lot twenty-four, new number, in said city, and to prevent the sale of fresh meat, •dressed poultry and fish at any other point, except in .such one-stall markets as might be established with the permission of the city council. The answer contained many allegations not necessary to be referred to, but it is only sufficient to say that the entire de[4]*4fense sought to be interposed rested upon the validity of the said city ordinances.

After replication filed to the answer, the court on the 5th day of November, 1889, refused to dissolve the-injunction granted, upon motion made for that purpose, and the city appealed from that decision to this-court.

The affirmance here of the court’s ruling in refusing to dissolve the injunction will be found in the case of City of Jacksonville et al. vs. Ledwith, 26 Fla., 163, 7 South. Rep., 885. The ordinances upon which the-city’s defense rested were held to be void, and a very full and exhaustive discussion of the grounds for so-holding will be found in the opinion filed in that case.

Subsequent to the decision here the city of J ackson-ville on the 5th day of August, 1890, passed another ordinance which was approved the 9th day of that month, to regulate the vending of fresh meats, dressed poultry and fish, and to establish and regulate markets. The second section of this ordinance was amended in September, 1890, the amendatory ordinance receiving the approval of the mayor on the 19th day of that month. It is only necessary to refer to the leading features of this ordinance, as amended, to understand its purport and objects. By it the buildings on water lot twenty-four, new number, fronting on Market street, is declared to be a public market for the city of Jacksonville, and not elsewhere, and everyday in the year, except Sundays, are declared to be-market days. All persons are prohibited from selling or offering for sale any fresh mea.ts, dressed poultry or fish at any place within the territory bounded by Du-val street on the north, Catherine street on the east, the city limits-on the south, and Julia street on the-[5]*5west, except at the said public market; and no person .shall sell or offer for sale any fresh meats, drfessed poultry or fish outside of said territory, unless such person shall have a license to sell the same, procured under the provisions of the ordinance, and then only in buildings constructed, maintained and furnished in accordance with the requirements thereof, and which buildings are thereby designated as private markets. Any person may obtain a license to sell fresh meats, dressed poultry and fish for the period of one month by payment to the city treasurer of five dollars in advance, the license to be issued by the treasurer on receipt of the money. Such licenses shall end on the first of the month, and may issue for fractional portions of the month upon payment of the proper proportion of the fee, and all such licenses shall authorize the selling of fresh meats, dressed poultry and fish only within buildings constructed and maintained in accordance with the requirements of the ordinance outside the limits prescribed in the establishment of the public market, and the other requirements of the ordinance. The ordinance contains certain general regulations in reference to the conduct of all markets in the city, such as prohibiting the bringing to/jar offering for sale in any market or elsewhere in the city unwholesome meat or any live poultry notin a healthy condition,-or the flesh of any animal -which .-was sick when butchered, or which died a-natural death, or was killed by accident, or otherwise than in the usual manner of slaughtering animals for food ; the preven- - tion of the obstruction to the passage way to and through .any market house, or the deposit of decayed vegetable or animal matter in or about any market house, and the smoking of cigars, pipes and cigarettes in a [6]*6market place during maiket hours ; the regulation of the transportation of fresh meats through the streets of the city ; the establishment of scales and measures conforming to the standard of weights and measures of the State of Florida; and the creation of the office of market inspector and prescribing his duties and. the regulation of the days and hours for keeping open the markets in said city.

The ordinance also provides that the-private markets shall have water-tight floors of yellow pine heart-plank or Portland cement, or both, at least one inch in thickness, placed on solid foundation.

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Bluebook (online)
32 Fla. 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ledwith-v-city-of-jacksonville-fla-1893.