Lynn v. Metropolitan Dade County Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation

44 Fla. Supp. 2d 211
CourtCircuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida
DecidedAugust 24, 1990
DocketCase No. 90-6131 (07)
StatusPublished

This text of 44 Fla. Supp. 2d 211 (Lynn v. Metropolitan Dade County Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lynn v. Metropolitan Dade County Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 44 Fla. Supp. 2d 211 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

THIS MATTER having come before the Court on Motion for Rehearing of the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended Com[212]*212plaint, and the Court having considered the arguments of counsel and being otherwise duly advised, hereby grants the motion to dismiss for the reasons that follow.

BACKGROUND

This action arises from the Plaintiffs termination from the position of sergeant at the Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. The Plaintiff appealed his termination in accordance with § 2-47 of the Code of Metropolitan Dade County to an independent hearing examiner. The hearing examiner concluded that the Plaintiff committed the offenses with which he was charged, but recommended that instead of being terminated, the Plaintiff should be demoted and required to serve a probationary period. The County Manager accepted the hearing examiner’s findings and his recommendation for a demotion, but added a period of suspension to cover the time between the Plaintiffs dismissal and his reinstatement to the position of officer. The Plaintiff did not appeal the Manager’s decision to the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court as permitted by § 2-47.1 of the Dade County Code.

Instead, three years later, the Plaintiff filed this lawsuit alleging that he was wrongfully discharged, that his discharge breached his employment contract with the County, that his discharge amounted to the intentional infliction of emotional distress and that he was wrongfully suspended and reprimanded.

DISCUSSION

1. Jurisdiction

Before seeking judicial relief, public employees are required to exhaust any available civil service procedure. Once a decision is obtained through such a civil service proceeding, the court does not have the authority to reconsider that decision de novo. Because the complaint in this action seeks to completely relitigate the Plaintiffs discharge and suspension, the Court is without jurisdiction.

In City of Miami Springs v Barad, 448 So.2d 510 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), the Third District granted a petition prohibiting the circuit court from exercising jurisdiction over a police officer’s action seeking a declaration that he was wrongfully demoted, backpay and reinstatement to his former position, because civil service remedies were available. The court explained that the officer, “having voluntarily submitted himself to and fully utilized the administrative review procedures provided by the Miami Springs Code of Ordinances and having been accorded a quasi-judicial hearing before the civil service board on his claim of wrongful demotion, is not entitled to a de novo [213]*213hearing in the circuit court on this claim, but instead, must institute appropriate proceedings in the circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity, to review the City’s adverse determination.” Accord Metropolitan Dade County v Rudoff, 544 So.2d 1118 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Koenig v Tyler, 360 So.2d 104 (fla. 3d DCA 1978).

In this case, the Plaintiff appealed his termination to a hearing examiner and the County Manager under § 2-47 of the Dade County Code. As a result of that appeal, the Manager reduced the termination to a demotion. If the Plaintiff was dissatisfied with the Manager’s decision, his remedy was to seek review in the appellate division of the circuit court under § 2-47.1 of the County Code. He does not have the right to seek a de novo hearing in this court to determine whether he was wrongfully discharged.

The court similarly lacks jurisdiction over the Plaintiffs claim that he was wrongfully suspended. The suspension was reduced to a reprimand which was appealable to the Director of the Department of Corrections. As the Third District held in Dade County v Rudoff, 544 So.2d 1118 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), when a public administrator is given the authority to decide an employment issue, the adversely affected employee does not have the right to relitigate the matter de novo in court. Judicial review of such administrative decisions is limited to an appeal to determine whether the administrator had jurisdiction and based his decision on substantial competent evidence. Id. The Plaintiff does not seek such a limited review in this action, but instead seeks to completely relitigate the basis for his suspension and reprimand. The Court does not have jurisdiction to reconsider the County’s action in such a manner. See Fink v Metropolitan Dade County, 403 So.2d 1060 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Koenig v Tyler, 360 So.2d 104 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978).

2. Wrongful Discharge

Counts I and II of the Amended Complaint allege that the Plaintiff was wrongfully terminated and demoted from his position as a correctional sergeant. Count I is based on a breach of contract theory and Count II is based on a tort theory, but the courts of this state have held that there is no cause of action for wrongful discharge under either theory.

As the Third District held in DeMarco v Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 360 So.2d 134 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), aff'd 384 So.2d 1253 (Fla. 1980), “where the term of employment is discretionary with either party or indefinite, then either party for any reason may terminate it at any time and no action may be maintained for breach of the employment [214]*214contract.” Accord, Hartley v Ocean Reef Club, Inc., 476 So.2d 1327, 1330 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (“A common law cause of action for retaliatory or wrongful discharge does not exist in Florida.”); Kelly v Gill, 544 So.2d 1162 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989) (“a contract of employment (implied or express) which is indefinite as to term of employment is terminable at the will of either party without cause and an action for wrongful discharge will not lie.”). This result is not altered by the fact that the Plaintiff has attempted to base his claim on various County rules and regulations because such “unilateral policy statements cannot, without more, give rise to enforceable contract rights.” McDonnell v Eastern Airlines, Inc., 499 So.22d 68, 69 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Muller v Stromberg Carlson Corp., 427 So.2d 266, 270 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Because the Amended Complaint is based upon allegations of employment for an unspecified term, it does not state a claim for wrongful termination under either a contract or a tort theory.

3. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

The courts of this state do not recognize a cause of action for the intentional infliction of emotional distress based upon the breach of an employment contract. As the Third District explained in DeMarco v Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 360 So.2d 134 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), aff’d 384 So.2d 1253 (Fla. 1980), “the controlling principle of law is that if the action is basically for breach of an employment contract, there can be no recovery from mental pain and anguish resulting from the breach unless such breach amounts to an independent, willful tort.” Accord, McDonnell v Eastern Airlines, 499 So.2d 68 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). The Amended Complaint in this action alleges nothing more than that the Plaintiff was discharged and suspended for reasons with which he disagrees. The employment actions alleged in the complaint are not sufficient to constitute the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

4.

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Related

Levine v. Dade County School Bd.
442 So. 2d 210 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1983)
City of Miami Springs v. Barad
448 So. 2d 510 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1983)
Muller v. Stromberg Carlson Corp.
427 So. 2d 266 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1983)
Arnold v. Shumpert
217 So. 2d 116 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1968)
DeMarco v. Publix Super Markets, Inc.
384 So. 2d 1253 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1980)
Hartley v. Ocean Reef Club, Inc.
476 So. 2d 1327 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1985)
Kelly v. Gill
544 So. 2d 1162 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1989)
Pan-Am Tobacco v. Department of Corrections
471 So. 2d 4 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1984)
McConnell v. Eastern Air Lines, Inc.
499 So. 2d 68 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1986)
DeMarco v. Publix Super Markets, Inc.
360 So. 2d 134 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1978)
Koenig v. Tyler
360 So. 2d 104 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1978)
Dukanauskas v. Metropolitan Dade County
378 So. 2d 74 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1979)
Fink v. Metropolitan Dade County
403 So. 2d 1060 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1981)
Collier v. Dade County
417 So. 2d 695 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1982)
Metropolitan Dade County v. Rudoff
544 So. 2d 1118 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 Fla. Supp. 2d 211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lynn-v-metropolitan-dade-county-dept-of-corrections-rehabilitation-flacirct-1990.