ROBERT L. SHEVIN, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA, H. LAYTON MAINGUY, MAYOR, AND THE CITY OF OAKLAND PARK, APPELLANTS,
v.
BOCACCIO, INC., A CORPORATION, D/B/A FRONT PAGE, AND 4245 CORPORATION, INC., D/B/A BACKSTAGE LOUNGE, APPELLEES
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The Florida Supreme Court upheld a statute prohibiting "B-girl" activity—where employees of alcoholic beverage establishments solicit patrons to buy them drinks—against constitutional challenges. The court rejected arguments that the prohibition on soliciting both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages was overbroad and that restricting the statute to licensed establishments violated equal protection.
The statute is constitutional. State regulation of alcoholic beverage licensees may extend beyond regulation of alcohol sales alone. The prohibition on soliciting both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is rationally related to the legislative purpose of protecting the public interest in licensed establishments. The statute does not violate equal protection because statutory regulation need not be all-encompassing, and a classification based on the determination that establishments serving alcoholic beverages are particularly susceptible to such activity is rational.
[1] State regulation of establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages may extend beyond the regulation of alcohol sales.
[2] A statute prohibiting solicitation for the purchase of any beverage, alcoholic or otherwise, by employees of an alcoholic beverage establishment is a rational and reasona…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“State regulation of establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages may extend beyond regulation of alcohol sales.”
Establishes that regulation of licensed establishments is not limited to alcohol sales alone, supporting the constitutionality of the statute's broad prohibition.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe appellees, Bocaccio, Inc. (d/b/a Front Page) and 4245 Corporation, Inc. (d/b/a Backstage Lounge), operated establishments licensed to sell alcohol…
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OVERTON, Justice.
This case is before the Court on direct appeal from a circuit court which held the “B-girl” prohibition statute, section 562.131, Florida Statutes (1977), unconstitutional on its face and as applied to the appellees. We have jurisdiction.1 The statute prohibits so-called “B-girl”2 activity, where employees of an alcoholic beverage establishment solicit the establishment’s patrons to buy drinks for them. We find the statute constitutional and reverse the trial court.
The appellees challenged the statute on the ground that the prohibition of the solicitation of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages bears no reasonable relationship to the purpose of the statute. In appellees’ view, the statute is intended to prohibit the solicitation of alcoholic beverages only; the appellees assert that the inclusion of the words “alcoholic or otherwise” makes the statute an invalid exercise of the police power. The appellees also contend that because the statute applies only to alcoholic beverage licensees and their employees, it violates the state and federal guarantees of equal protection of the laws.
The trial court held the statute unconstitutional on its face because it “transcends the evil sought to be remedied” in violation of the substantive due process rights of the appellees. Art. I, § 9, Fla.Const.; U.S. Const. Amend. XIV. The trial court also found that the statute unreasonably applied solely to alcoholic beverage licensees in violation of article I, section 9, Florida Constitution.
We reject the conclusion of the trial court. State regulation of establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages may extend beyond regulation of alcohol sales. The legislature has found that it is in the public’s interest to halt this solicitation activity in establishments which sell alcoholic beverages, and we find it is rational and reasonable legislation.
We reject the argument of appel-lees that such regulation is a violation of their equal protection rights because there are countless establishments which sell nonalcoholic beverages and are not subject to this legislation. Statutory regulation need not be all-encompassing. Newman v. Carson, 280 So. 2d 426 (Fla.1973); Pacheco v. Pacheco, 246 So. 2d 778 (Fla.1971). A classification based upon a legislative determination that establishments serving alcoholic beverages are particularly susceptible to the activity is not irrational. The dictates of due process and equal protection, related in regulation of this type, require only that the statutory means of regulation be rationally related to the statutory objective, and that the members of the regulated class be treated equally. Soverino v. State, 356 So. 2d 269 (Fla.1978); Gammon v. Cobb, 335 So. 2d 261 (Fla.1976). This standard was met in the instant case.
We find section 562.131 to be constitutional. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for new trial.
It is so ordered.
ADKINS, BOYD, SUNDBERG, ALDERMAN and McDONALD, JJ., concur. ENGLAND, C. J., concurs in result only.
. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla.Const. . The term is colloquial; the statute is gender neutral. Section 562.131, Florida Statutes (1977), provides:
Solicitation for sale of alcoholic beverage prohibited; penalty.—
(1)It is unlawful for any licensee, his employee, agent, servant, or any entertainer employed at the licensed premises or employed on a contractual basis to entertain, perform or work upon the licensed premises to beg or solicit any patron or customer thereof or visitor in any licensed premises to purchase any beverage, alcoholic or otherwise, for such licensee’s employee, agent, servant, or entertainer. (2) It is unlawful for any licensee, his employee, agent, or servant to knowingly permit any person to loiter in or about the licensed premises for the purpose of begging or soliciting any patron or customer of, or visitor in, such premises to purchase any beverage, alcoholic or otherwise.
(3) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
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Silver Rose Ent., Inc. v. Clay Cnty., 646 So. 2d 246 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…imination against purveyors of alcoholic beverages is the rule rather than the exception. No case of which we are aware has held that an ordinance “violates the state and federal guarantees of equal protection of the laws,” Shevin v. Bocaccio, Inc., 379 So. 2d 105, 106 (Fla.1979), because it “applies only to alcoholic beverage licensees and their employees.” Id. The dictates of due process and equal protection, related in regulation of this type, require only that the statutory means of regulation be rationa…
Authorities Cited
- Gammon v. Cobb, 335 So. 2d 261 (Fla. 1976)
- Carmelos Soverino v. State, 356 So. 2d 269 (Fla. 1978)
- Newman v. Carson, 280 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1973)
- Flamingo Hauling & Rigging Co., Inc. v. Bevis, 280 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1973)
- Elva Anne Pacheco v. Ferdie Pacheco, 246 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 1971)