State Road Department of Florida v. Bramlett

179 So. 2d 137, 1965 Fla. App. LEXIS 3736
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 14, 1965
DocketNo. F-507
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 179 So. 2d 137 (State Road Department of Florida v. Bramlett) 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
State Road Department of Florida v. Bramlett, 179 So. 2d 137, 1965 Fla. App. LEXIS 3736 (Fla. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

STURGIS, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final judgment in a condemnation proceeding awarding $43,500.00 as compensation for the taking of a parcel of property identified as SRD #100.1, 100.2, 100.3. Included in said award is an item of $5,500.00 for the loss of a business conducted thereon by appellees Albert Raphael and Florence Raphael, his wife, hereinafter referred to as “Raphael,” who were tenants of the fee simple owners, E. A. Summerall et ux, hereinafter referred to as “Summerall,” [138]*138and who also owned the improvements on the land. Raphael’s business was a small general store, of more than five years standing when the property was taken by the State Road Department of Florida, the appellant-petitioner. The Raphaels were made parties defendant because of their interest under said lease, which by its terms was to expire January 4, 1966.

Raphael’s answer alleged, inter alia,

“ * * * The Defendants’ interest in the aforedescribed property has been damaged and Defendant Lessees claim compensation as provided for in the Florida Statutes including, but not limited to, damages suffered by Defendant Lessees to their established business of more than five (5) years standing, located on the -lands sought to be condemned and described aforesaid in said Lease Agreement, and called ‘The Golden Rule Grocery’. Defendant Lessees also claim compensation for * * * reasonable costs of moving Defendant Lessees’ personal property from the premises, * *

On May 18, 1964, during the trial of the cause, a stipulation between Summerall and the State Road Department of Florida was recognized to exist, in accordance with the following colloquy between counsel for petitioner and the trial judge:

MR. DANIELS (of counsel for petitioner) : “One. It is stipulated and I wish the jury would take this down, stipulated that the value of the property taken excluding the business is $38,000, so that any amount awarded for the business would be in addition to that $38,000.”
THE COURT: “When you say the., property taken, you are saying the land?”
MR. DANIELS: “The land, the buildings.”
THE COURT: “The appurtenances ■including the lease?”
MR. DANIELS: “Yes, sir.”
THE COURT: “The value of the land, the appurtenances, and the lease is $38,000. That is what they have stipulated to.”

On the following day Summerall and Raphael filed a stipulation agreeing that just compensation for the destruction of Raphael’s “leasehold interest” was $750.00, and at a post-trial hearing it was stipulated that Raphael should receive that sum out of the $38,000.00 referred to in the stipulation between petitioner and Summerall, who did not participate in the trial but relied upon said stipulation.

At the trial Raphael was allowed to adduce testimony over petitioner’s objection as to the reasonable fair market value of his business which was destroyed by petitioner’s taking, under the power of eminent domain, of fee simple title to the land on which such business was conducted.

The court informed the jury of said stipulation fixing the fair market value of the land, appurtenances and lease at $38,-000.00, and instructed the jury, inter alia) that should it find from the evidence that the business operated by Raphael, taking into consideration the length of the unexpired term of the lease and other relevant factors, had a fair market value apart from the value of the land and lease, it should ascertain such value and ■ add same to the said stipulated value of the land, appurtenances and leasehold interest and return a verdict for such total sum. The jury returned a verdict for $43,500.00, thus awarding $5,500.00 for such business damages, and petitioner moved for a new trial on the ground, inter alia, that the court erred in ruling and instructing the jury, as aforesaid, that the measure of business damage was fair inarket value. In its exhaustive order denying the motion for a new trial the trial court concluded that it was error to so instruct the jury, but that it had no harmful effect upon the petitioner and only prejudiced Raphael who by inac[139]*139tion had waived any adverse effect occasioned thereby.

It also appears that in the course of the trial • the court held, over petitioner’s objection, that in determining the compensation to be made for the entire taking, the jury was entitled to consider the value of the damage occasioned by the destruction of the business of more than five years standing owned and operated by the lessee Raphael, and this ruling was assigned as error by the motion for a new trial and is an issue on this appeal. The order denying said motion quotes that part of Section 73.10(4), Florida Statutes,.. F.S.A., which provides:'

“ * * * Provided, however, that when' the suit is by the "state road department * * * for'the Condemnation of a right of way, and" the effect of the taking of the property involved may damage or, destroy ^.n established business of more than five years standing, owned by the party whose lands are being so taken, located, upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party, the jury shall ■ consider the -probable effect .‡ •* ■* ■ and assess in addition to the amount to be awarded for the taking, the probable damages to such business * * (Emphasis supplied.)

and the order makes the following observations touching upon the court’s disposition of the motion:

“At the trial this Court ruled that although the subject business was located entirely upon the land taken, to-wit: Notwithstanding that the business was not ‘located upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party’ nevertheless the damage or destruction of the lessees’ established business of more than five years standing fell within the coverage of F.S. 73.10(4). In so ruling this Court found that the Appellate Court, in White [State Road Department v. White, 148 So.2d 32 (Fla.App.1963)] had obviously expanded the statute. This Court now concedes that the language which is attributed to the Appellate Court in White was not in fact the language of that Court but was instead a portion of thb-language of a Wyoming decision which was quoted in White, and preceded by a stateriient that the Wyoming decision ‘was based on a statute unlike the Florida statute quoted above [73.10(4)] and the facts of the case are dissimilar to those involved in the instant proceeding * * A careful reading of White reveals that it did not expand the subject statute but simply held that a lessee is, for the purpose of the statute, an owner. Such holding was specifically affirmed by the Supreme Court of Florida in White on Certiorari.
“Upon reconsideration this Court now finds that the clear and unambiguous words of. Florida Statute 73.10(4) require the holding that such statute applies only to businesses ‘located upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party,’ and therefore does not apply to businesses located entirely upon the lands being taken. To construe the plain words of the statute in any other manner would be to engraft an amendment thereon which is the sole province of the legislature and not of the Cóurts.
“However, such holding that the statute does not apply does not of necessity require the inference or holding that damage to a business located upon, land which is being condemned in its entirety is not compensable.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
179 So. 2d 137, 1965 Fla. App. LEXIS 3736, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-road-department-of-florida-v-bramlett-fladistctapp-1965.