Massey v. Charlotte County

842 So. 2d 142, 2003 WL 255453
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedFebruary 7, 2003
Docket2D02-389
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 842 So. 2d 142 (Massey v. Charlotte County) 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
Massey v. Charlotte County, 842 So. 2d 142, 2003 WL 255453 (Fla. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

842 So.2d 142 (2003)

Frank I. MASSEY and Stephen W. Massey, Petitioners,
v.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Florida, Respondent.

No. 2D02-389.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

February 7, 2003.
Rehearing Denied April 8, 2003.

*143 Warren R. Ross of Wotitzky, Wotitzky, Ross & Goldman, P.A., Punta Gorda, for Petitioners.

Renee Francis Lee, County Attorney, and Brendan Bradley, Deputy County Attorney, Port Charlotte, for Respondent.

ALTENBERND, Chief Judge.

Frank I. Massey and Stephen W. Massey (the Masseys) seek a petition for writ of certiorari to quash an order of the circuit court acting in its appellate capacity. The circuit court order affirmed an order issued by Charlotte County's Code Enforcement Board imposing a lien in the amount of $10,240.90 on property owned jointly by the Masseys. Because the Code Enforcement Board denied the Masseys procedural due process and the circuit court applied the incorrect law in determining otherwise, we grant the petition. See, e.g., Maple Manor, Inc. v. City of Sarasota, 813 So.2d 204 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (granting certiorari because circuit court applied incorrect law in holding that nuisance board proceedings provided appropriate due process). Although we do not mandate any specific procedure for the Code Enforcement Board to follow in imposing liens upon property for code violations, when the imposition of a lien requires additional factual findings, due process requires some predeprivation or postdeprivation process for the property owner to test the validity of those findings.

On July 5, 2000, the Charlotte County Code Enforcement Board held a hearing at which it found the Masseys in violation of the Charlotte County building code because they failed to obtain appropriate permits before constructing improvements on their property. The Masseys received notice of, and participated in, the hearing. Based upon the hearing, the Board entered an order on July 11, 2000, finding the Masseys in violation of the building code and requiring them to remedy the violation by "applying for and obtaining a permit within 30 days from the date of this hearing and obtaining a final inspection within 6 months from the date of the hearing" *144 or by removing any improvements and restoring the property to its original condition "with a demolition permit." The order further provided:

Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this order shall be punished by a fine of $100.00 per day for each day the violation is shown to exist past the specified time for compliance. A fine may become a lien on your property pursuant to Section 162.09, Florida Statutes.

On November 13, 2000, a building inspections supervisor, Mr. LaPorta, submitted an "affidavit of noncompliance" to the Code Enforcement Board, averring that the Masseys had not complied with the order of July 11, 2000, and asking the Code Enforcement Board to fine the Masseys $100.00 per day for a total of 101 days and to assess costs against them of $130.40. The affidavit stated: "[A] hearing is not necessary for the issuance of this order, and a certified copy of the order imposing fines and costs may be recorded as a lien against the real and personal property owned by the violator." There is no indication in this affidavit that it was served on the Masseys.

On January 3, 2001, the Code Enforcement Board met. The minutes of the meeting reflect the following:

Mr. Bradley explained that the Masseys still have not pulled the proper permits.
Mr. Prather motioned to approve the fine as stated in the Affidavit of Noncompliance. The motion was seconded by Mr. Adomatis and was passed unanimously.

The transcript of this meeting similarly reflects that the Code Enforcement Board summarily approved the imposition of the fines and a lien based solely upon the presentation of the affidavit and without further discussion. Accordingly, on January 4, 2001, the Code Enforcement Board issued an "order imposing penalty/lien" assessing fines and costs against the Masseys totaling $10,240.90 and imposing a lien on all non-exempt real and personal property owned by the Masseys in Charlotte County. The order did not indicate any avenue by which the Masseys could challenge the validity of these fines or the imposition of the lien. It is undisputed that the Masseys did not receive notice or an opportunity to be heard before the entry of this order. There is some indication that prior to the entry of this order, the Masseys had applied for the appropriate permits.

The Masseys sought review of the order imposing the fines and lien in circuit court, arguing that the imposition of the fines and lien without notice to them and an opportunity to be heard violated procedural due process. The circuit court affirmed the order. The Masseys now seek a petition for writ of certiorari to quash the circuit court's order. We grant the petition.

This case involves our review of a circuit court order entered in its review capacity over a final administrative order. Under these circumstances, this court's certiorari standard of review is limited to whether procedural due process was accorded and whether the circuit court applied the correct law. Haines City Cmty. Dev. v. Heggs, 658 So.2d 523 (Fla.1995). We conclude that the circuit court applied the incorrect law in rejecting the Masseys' procedural due process arguments.

Chapter 162, Florida Statutes (2000), establishes the procedures that code enforcement boards must follow to enforce local building codes and ordinances. Pursuant to that chapter, a code inspector who discovers a violation must notify the violator and give him or her a reasonable time to correct the violation. *145 § 162.06(2), Fla. Stat. (2000). If the violation is not timely corrected, the code inspector must notify the code enforcement board. Id. After notice to the property owner, the board must hold a hearing during which it must take testimony under oath from the code inspector and the alleged violator and must make findings and issue an order. § 162.07(3), (4), Fla. Stat. (2000). The order "may include a notice that it must be complied with by a specified date and that a fine may be imposed." § 162.07(4). The order is then filed in the public records to provide notice to any subsequent purchasers or assigns. Id.

If the owner complies with the order, the board must issue an order acknowledging compliance and file it in the public records. Id. If the owner does not comply, the code inspector notifies the board, which "may order the violator to pay a fine in an amount specified in this section for each day the violation continues past the date set by the enforcement board for compliance." § 162.09(1), Fla. Stat. (2000). "If a finding of violation ... has been made as provided in this part, a hearing shall not be necessary for issuance of the order imposing the fine." Id. Although fines cannot exceed $250 per day for a first violation or $500 per day for a repeat violation, there is no cap on the total fine that can be imposed unless the violation is irremediable. § 162.09(2)(a). In determining the amount of the fine to be imposed, the code enforcement board must consider (1) the gravity of the violation, (2) any actions taken by the violator to correct the violation, and (3) any previous violations committed by the violator. § 162.09(2)(b).[1]

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Bluebook (online)
842 So. 2d 142, 2003 WL 255453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/massey-v-charlotte-county-fladistctapp-2003.