JOSEPH M. DONISI AND CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, APPELLANTS,
v.
RANDY S. TROUT AND RAYANN TROUT, HIS WIFE, APPELLEES
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed in part a summary judgment that would have required the City of Fort Lauderdale to indemnify a police officer for the full amount of a negligence judgment under a city ordinance. The court held that a municipality cannot waive sovereign immunity beyond the statutory $50,000 limit set by Florida law, as only the Legislature may waive sovereign immunity.
A municipality cannot waive sovereign immunity through local ordinance beyond the statutory limits set by the Legislature. The liability of the City of Fort Lauderdale is limited to $50,000 under Section 768.28, Florida Statutes, regardless of any contrary city ordinance.
[1] A municipality cannot waive sovereign immunity by local law when the Legislature has provided for such waiver by general law with specific limitations.
[2] The waiver of sovereign immunity by the state is vested exclusively in the Legislature.
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“Article X, § 13 of the Florida Constitution provides that the sovereign immunity of the state may be waived only by general law. Since the power to waive the state's immunity is vested exclusively in the Legislature, a city may not waive sovereign immunity by local law.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that only the Legislature can waive sovereign immunity through general law, not municipalities through local ordinance.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePolice Officer Joseph M. Donisi was sued by fellow officer Randy S. Trout for negligent acts committed within the scope of Donisi's employment. A city…
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LETTS, Chief Judge.
This is an appeal from a partial summary judgment imposing upon the City of Fort Lauderdale the obligation to pay the full amount of any judgment rendered against its employee, Police Officer Joseph M. Doni-si, for negligent acts committed in the scope of his employment against fellow officer Randy S. Trout.
Although a city ordinance obligated the City to indemnify Donisi for the full amount of any judgment, the City claims that the trial court erred to the extent that the amount to be indemnified exceeded the $50,000 limitation set forth in Section 768.-28, Florida Statutes (1977).
Article X, § 13 of the Florida Constitution provides that the sovereign immunity of the state may be waived only by general law. Since the power to waive the state’s immunity is vested exclusively in the Legislature, a city may not waive sovereign immunity by local law. See: Manatee County v. Town of Longboat Key, 365 So. 2d 143 (Fla.1978); Arnold v. Shumpert, 217 So. 2d 116 (Fla.1968).
A municipality cannot forbid what the Legislature has expressly licensed, authorized or required, nor may it authorize what the Legislature has expressly forbidden. We, therefore, must employ a rule of strict construction against waiver of immunity beyond the statutory amount.
The Legislature has, by general law, provided for a waiver of sovereign immunity in Section 768.28, Florida Statutes (1977) and more specifically has set monetary limitations for such actions in subsection 5.1 Since the municipal ordinance indemnifying Donisi is a local and not general law, it cannot be employed to completely waive sovereign immunity. The limitations of liability set forth in the subsection apply to the municipality; therefore, the liability of the City is limited to $50,000.
Accordingly, the part of the summary judgment which imposed upon the City the obligation to pay the full amount of the judgment is reversed.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART.
ANSTEAD and HURLEY, JJ., concur. . (5) The state and its agencies and subdivisions shall be liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances, but liability shall not include punitive damages or interest for the period prior to judgment. Neither the state nor its agencies or subdivisions shall be liable to pay a claim or a judgment by any one person which exceeds the sum of $50,000 or any claim or judgment, or portions thereof, which when totaled with all other claims or judgments paid by the state or its agencies or subdivisions arising out of the same incident or occurrence, exceeds the sum of $100,000.
However, a judgment or judgments may be claimed and rendered in excess of these amounts and may be settled and paid pursuant to this act up to $50,000 or $100,000 as the case may be, and that portion of the judgment that exceeds these amounts may be reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in whole only by further act of the Legislature. The limitations of liability set forth in this subsection shall apply to the state and its agencies and subdivisions whether or not the state or its agencies or subdivisions possessed sovereign immunity prior to July 1, 1974.
PER CURIAM.
The motion for rehearing and clarification is hereby denied.
LETTS, C. J., and HURLEY, J., concur. ANSTEAD, J., dissents with opinion.
ANSTEAD, Judge,
dissenting:
I would sua sponte grant rehearing and dismiss this appeal. The order in issue did not establish liability against the city since the city employee’s liability to his injured colleague had not yet been established. Under these circumstances I do not believe Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv) authorizes review.
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Town OF Gulf Stream v. Palm Beach Cnty., 206 So. 3d 721 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…aives the protections of sovereign immunity only when it enters into an express contract.”). Waiver of sovereign immunity by a city or county cannot be accomplished by local law. Arnold v. Shumpert, 217 So. 2d 116, 120 (Fla. 1968); Donisi v. Trout, 415 So. 2d 730, 730 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Section 125.0101, Florida Statutes (2010), however, permits counties to contract for services' with municipalities, thereby operating as a waiver of sovereign immunity. Section 125.0101 states in relevant part: (2)In addi…
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Thomas v. State, 583 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)…cation. PREEMPTION: A municipality cannot forbid what the legislature has expressly licensed, authorized or required, nor may it authorize what the legislature has expressly forbidden. Rinzler v. Carson, 262 So. 2d 661 (Fla.1972); Donisi v. Trout, 415 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), rev. denied, 426 So. 2d 29 (1983). The question is whether the legislature has denied municipalities the right to legislate on the subject. The mere existence of state regulations does not preclude a local authority from adding…
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Melanese Wilson v. Duval Cnty. Sch. Bd., 436 So. 2d 261 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…scope of their employment. Statutory immunity for state employees is a matter clearly within the power of the legislature. Article X, Section 13, Florida Constitution. E.g., Cauley v. City of Jacksonville, 403 So. 2d 379 (Fla.1981); Donisi v. Trout, 415 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). Waiver of such statutory immunity to the extent of available liability insurance coverage is solely within the power of the legislature to grant or deny. AFFIRMED. LARRY G. SMITH and BOOTH, JJ., concur. . Appellants’ inclusio…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Arnold v. Keither L. Shumpert, 217 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 1968)
- Woulard v. State, 365 So. 2d 143 (Fla. 1978)