PAULINE S. DORMAN, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
HIGHLANDS COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1982-07-01
No. 61896
ALDERMAN, C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, SUNDBERG and EHRLICH, JJ., concur.
417 So. 2d 253 Florida Supreme Court (1982) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Taxpayers challenged a circuit court's validation of an $11.5 million revenue bond issue by Highlands County Hospital District. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district's complaint satisfied statutory requirements for bond validation despite using a formula-based interest rate rather than a specific rate and proposing a trust indenture to be finalized later.


Holding

The court held that the complaint satisfied all statutory requirements: the interest rate language stating bonds would bear 'interest at rates not to exceed the maximum rate permitted by law' complies with section 75.04(1) as it references the formula in section 215.84; the complaint's description of a trust indenture substantially in form of an exhibit and to be designated by subsequent resolution satisfies section 75.04(2); and the district properly attached the necessary documents.


Headnotes

[1] A complaint seeking bond validation must set forth the interest rate the bonds will bear, but stating that interest will not exceed the maximum rate permitted by law at t…

[2] A bond validation complaint filed by a special district must allege the creation of a trust indenture for a bonded trustee acceptable to the court, and this requirement i…

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Key Quotes

“Under subsection 75.04(1) a complaint seeking bond validation must set out the interest that the bonds are to bear. The instant complaint states that the bonds will bear 'interest at rates not to exceed [*254] the maximum rate permitted by law at the time of issuance.' The appellants claim that subsection 75.04(1) should be read to require the setting forth of a specific rate and that the above-quoted language is defective. We disagree.”

Establishes that the statutory requirement for specifying interest rate does not require a precise percentage when the rate is tied to a statutory formula.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services issued a certificate of necessity for expansion of Highlands General Hospital after a 2.5…

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Opinion of the Court
McDONALD, Justice.

McDONALD, Justice.

Numerous taxpayers who reside within the Highlands County Hospital District1 appeal a circuit court order validating a bond issue proposed by the district. We have jurisdiction2 and affirm the final judgment of validation.

Following a two-and-one-half-year study, the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services issued a certificate of necessity allowing expansion of Highlands General Hospital. This hospital is owned and operated by the district, and on December 17, 1981 the district’s board of commissioners approved a resolution providing for the issuance of $11,500,000 in revenue bonds for improving and enlarging the hospital. After holding a hearing, the circuit court validated the bond issue proposal.

The appellants make the same claims here that they made in the trial court. They contend that the district’s complaint does not comply with section 75.04, Florida Statutes (1981), because it fails to state the interest that the bonds will bear, fails to allege the creation of a trust indenture, and fails to attach a full and complete copy of the board’s resolution. As did the circuit court, we find no merit to these claims.

Under subsection 75.04(1) a complaint seeking bond validation must set out the interest that the bonds are to bear. The instant complaint states that the bonds will bear “interest at rates not to exceed the maximum rate permitted by law at the time of issuance.” The appellants claim that subsection 75.04(1) should be read to require the setting forth of a specific rate and that the above-quoted language is defective. We disagree.

Bonds issued by this district fall within the scope of section 215.84, Florida Statutes (1981). Subsection (3) of that section sets out a formula for calculating the maximum rate of interest that government-issued bonds may bear. Holloway v. Lakeland Downtown Development Authority, 417 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1982). We find that the complaint satisfies subsection 75.04(l)'s requirement regarding rate of interest.

Subsection 75.04(2) states that bond validation complaints filed by special districts must “allege the creation of a trust indenture established by the petitioner for a bonded trustee acceptable to the court who shall certify the proper expenditure of the proceeds of the bond.” The instant complaint states that all payments on the bond issue will be pursuant to a Trust Indenture substantially in the form attached as Exhibit 1 to the Bond Resolution (herein called the “Indenture”), to be made between Plaintiff and one of the banks or trust companies named therein, to be designated by the Issuer by the adoption of a subsequent resolution, and which shall satisfy all requirements of law, as trustee (herein called the “Trustee”).

The appellants claim that the complaint evidences no “present” creation of a trust indenture. Again, we disagree.

The bond resolution, in its definition of “trustee,” states that one of three listed banks will be designated as the trustee in a subsequently adopted resolution. The exhibit referred to above is a 107-page trust indenture, containing numerous blanks which, presumably, will be filled in at the time of execution. We find that the complaint, which includes the bond resolution and trust indenture, complies with subsection 75.04(2).

Appellants also contend that the district failed to attach to the complaint a full and complete copy of the bond resolution. The court, however, found that the district had done correctly everything necessary to get this bond issue validated. Trial court decrees are presumed to be correct, and the burden is on the appellant to demonstrate their incorrectness to a reviewing court. State v. Town of Sweetwater, 112 So. 2d 852 (Fla.1959). After reviewing the record, we find that the appellants have failed to carry this burden.

Finding no merit to appellants’ contentions, we affirm the circuit court’s validation of the instant bond issue.3

It is so ordered.

ALDERMAN, C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, SUNDBERG and EHRLICH, JJ., concur. . A special tax district created by ch. 61-2232, Laws of Fla. . Art. V, § 3(b)(2), Fla.Const. . We agree with the trial court’s observation that everything that ought to be done has been done and whether it is good or bad must be left to the wisdom of the district commissioners because a court may not substitute its judgment for that of the district’s board.


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Cited By

  • State v. Osceola Cnty., 752 So. 2d 530 (Fla. 1999)
    …d resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, the amount of the bonds (i.e., not exceeding $35,000,000), and the interest the bonds will bear (i.e., an amount not to exceed the maximum permitted by law). See Dorman v. Highlands County Hosp. Dist., 417 So. 2d 253 (Fla.1982) (holding that allegation in complaint that bonds will bear “interest at rates not to exceed the maximum rate permitted by law at time of issuance” complied with section 75.04’s requirement concerning rate of interest). The complaint was f…
  • GRW Corp. v. Dep't OF Corr., 642 So. 2d 718 (Fla. 1994)
    …54 Fla. 250, 17 So. 2d 109 (1944). The fact that certain terms or provisions are not included in the document evidencing the indebtedness does not necessarily preclude validation of the proceedings. See, e.g., Dorman v. Highlands County Hosp. Dist., 417 So. 2d 253 (Fla.1982) (proceedings involving trust indenture were valid even though the trust indenture contained numerous blanks which, presumably, would be filled in at the time of execution); City of Miami, 41 So. 2d at 889 (it is common knowledge that bond…

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