ANTHONY B. HIGHSMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, BOARD OF OPTICIANRY, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1986-12-12
No. BG-172
BOOTH, C.J., concurs., WENTWORTH, J., agrees to conclusion.
499 So. 2d 19 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Anthony Highsmith, a licensed optician, challenged an administrative order suspending his license for one year and imposing a fine. The court reversed because the Department of Professional Regulation failed to provide him with reasonable notice of the disciplinary hearing as required by Florida's Administrative Procedure Act.


Holding

The Department's notice was not reasonably calculated to inform Highsmith of the hearing under the circumstances. When the Department learned a residential address was outdated and knew of an alternative business address, it was unreasonable to fail to send notice to that known business address.


Headnotes

[1] An administrative agency must provide reasonable notice of a hearing to an affected party, as mandated by statute and due process.

[2] Notice of an administrative hearing is not reasonably calculated to apprise an interested party of the proceedings when the agency knows the provided residential address…

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“A fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality 'is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency' of an action.”

Establishes the constitutional standard for adequate notice in administrative proceedings.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On March 14, 1984, Highsmith was charged with violating opticianry regulations by allowing unlicensed personnel to practice without direct supervision…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
MILLS, Judge.

MILLS, Judge.

In this appeal, Highsmith challenges a final administrative order rendered by the Department of Professional Regulation, Board of Opticianry, suspending his license to practice opticianry within the State of Florida for a period of one year and imposing an administrative fine. He contends the Department did not afford him “reasonable notice” of the informal administrative hearing held on charges against him, as mandated by Section 120.57(2), Florida Statutes (1983). We agree and reverse.

On 14 March 1984, the Department of Professional Regulation charged Hi-ghsmith, a licensed optician, with violating various provisions of Chapter 484, Florida Statutes (1983), by his action of allowing nonlicensed supportive personnel to practice opticianry without his direct supervision. A notice of the complaint against him was received by Highsmith, by hand service, at his business address, Pearle Vision Center, 3547 Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers, Florida.

On 13 August 1984, Highsmith executed an election of rights form indicating that he did not dispute the complaint’s factual allegations but still desired to present mitigating evidence at an informal administrative hearing pursuant to Section 120.57(2), Florida Statutes. The final paragraph of the election form advised Highsmith that he would have notice of the hearing. After signing his name, Highsmith identified his “current address” as his personal residence at “1849 Maravilla Avenue, Fort Myers, Florida.”

On 2 January 1985, a notice of hearing was mailed by the Department to Hi-ghsmith at his Maravilla address, advising him that a hearing had been scheduled for 18 January 1985. Subsequently, the Department decided to continue the hearing until 8 March 1985. In this regard, a second notice was dispatched to Highsmith’s residential address. However, the post office returned this notice to the Department on 4 March, indicating the addressee had moved and left no forwarding address. The envelope also contained a notation identifying Highsmith’s Pearle Vision Center address.

The disciplinary hearing went on as scheduled on 8 March 1985, notwithstanding the Department’s actual knowledge that Highsmith had not received notice of the proceedings. On 8 April 1985, a final order was entered imposing a $1,000.00 fine against Highsmith and suspending his license to practice opticianry for one year. The Department notified Highsmith of its decision by forwarding copies of its final order to his business address at the Pearle Vision Center. A fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality “is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency” of an action. Quay Development, Inc. v. Elegante Building Corp., 392 So. 2d 901, 903 (Fla.1981). Indeed, Section 120.57(2)(a), Florida Statutes, expressly requires that an agency provide affected persons with “reasonable notice” of proposed or completed agency action and afford them a meaningful opportunity to present written or oral evidence in opposition to the contemplated action.

Under the facts of this case, we do not hesitate to find the Department’s notice was not “reasonably calculated under all the circumstances” to inform Highsmith of the time and place of the informal administrative hearing. To be informed that a residential address is outdated and then neglect to send notice to a known business address, cannot be deemed a reasonable effort to comport with the due process requirements guaranteed by the Administrative Procedure Act. See, Wilson v. Pest Control Commission of Florida, 199 So. 2d 777 (Fla. 4th DCA 1967).

Reversed.

BOOTH, C.J., concurs.

WENTWORTH, J., agrees to conclusion.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Schram v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 603 So. 2d 1307 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …ons taken in the State of Michigan, as those prior proceedings formed the basis for the Florida disciplinary action. The address of Appellant’s pharmacy appears on the Michigan consent order. Highsmith v. Department of Prof. Reg., Bd. of Opticianry, 499 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 1st DCA1986) (knowing residential address was outdated, DPR’s failure to send notice to known business address failed to meet due process requirements of chapter 120). We find the particular facts of the case sub judice are such that Appellee…
  • Brooks v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 578 So. 2d 381 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
    …ected persons with ‘reasonable notice’ of proposed or completed agency action and afford them a meaningful opportunity to present written or oral evidence in opposition to the contemplated action.” Highsmith v. Department of Professional Regulation, 499 So. 2d 19, 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); see also Scharrer v. Department of Professional Regulation, 536 So. 2d 320 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (requiring notice of hearing, which must be at a convenient time and place). Although Brooks was in prison at the time of the hear…
  • Bryant v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 603 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
    …requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality ‘is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency’ of an action.” Highsmith v. Dept. of Professional Regulation, 499 So. 2d 19, 20 (Fla. 1st DCA1986), citing Quay Development Inc. v. Elegante Bldg. Corp., 392 So. 2d 901, 903 (Fla.1981). Finding no relevant distinctions between this case and Highsmith, we reverse the order of suspension and remand with directions to the Boar…

Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw