ODELL O. SASNETT, APPELLANT,
v.
TAMPA ELECTRIC COMPANY, ET AL. APPELLEES
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The court held that the appellant lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute and that the right to business damages is a matter of legislative grace, not constitutional entitlement.
[1] Business damages in eminent domain proceedings are a matter of legislative grace, not constitutional right.
[2] A statute providing for business damages in eminent domain may be construed to apply only when the taking is by a public body, excluding private entities.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTampa Electric Company (TECO) petitioned to appropriate land owned by Odell Sasnett for a power line right-of-way. Sasnett requested business damages,…
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HALL, Judge.
In this eminent domain proceeding, Odell 0. Sasnett appeals from the final judgment denying his request for business damages under section 73.071(3)(b), Florida Statutes (1985). We affirm.
The appellee, Tampa Electric Company (TECO), a private, investor-owned electric utility, petitioned to appropriate a portion of the appellant’s land for a right-of-way to construct power lines and their supporting structures. The appellant owned and operated a mobile home park on the land for seventeen years prior to the commencement of the proceedings. In his answer, the appellant requested business damages, claiming that the partial taking would harm his remaining business on the contiguous land since the mobile home residents would not want to live in such close proximity to the proposed power lines. TECO filed a motion to strike the claim for business damages on the ground that it was not a “public body” and, therefore, not required to pay business damages under section 73.071(3)(b). The trial court granted the motion to strike such damages on the basis of Florida Power & Light Co. v. Florida National Bank & Trust Co., 448 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), and awarded the appellant $423,000.00, less 1986 taxes due, as full compensation for the property. The stipulated final judgment expressly stated that “Sasnett may appeal ... this Court’s striking of his claim for business damages.”
The statute allowing business damages, section 73.071(3)(b), provides:
(b) Where less than the entire property is sought to be appropriated, any damages to the remainder caused by the taking, including, when the action is by the Department of Transportation, county, municipality, board, district or other public body for the condemnation of a right-of-way, and the effect of the taking of the property involved may damage or destroy an established business of more than 5 years’ standing, owned by the party whose lands are being so taken, located upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party, the probable damages to such business which the denial of the use of the property so taken may reasonably cause; any person claiming the right to recover such special damages shall set forth in his written defenses the nature and extent of such damages.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Florida Power & Light Co. construed the statute as providing business damages to an established business of more than five years when the taking is by a public body, i.e., by a governmental agency or political subdivision of the state, but as providing no such damages when the taking is by a privately owned entity. The appellant in this case argues that under the Fourth District’s construction, the statute is unconstitutional as a denial of equal protection and due process.
Article X, section 6(a), Florida Constitution (1985), provides that “[n]o private property shall be taken except for a public purpose and with full compensation therefor paid to each owner or secured by deposit in the registry of the court and available to the owner.” Full compensation consists of two elements, the value of the property taken and severance damages to any remainder. Division of Administration, State Department of Transportation v. Grant Motor Co., 345 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). Business damages and lost profits do not constitute a part of the constitutionally protected concept of “just” or “full” compensation since they are intangibles which generally are not property in the constitutional sense. State of Florida Department of Transportation v. Fortune Federal Savings & Loan Association, 507 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). See also Jamesson v. Downtown Development Authority, 322 So. 2d 510 (Fla.1975).
The right to business damages is strictly a matter of legislative grace. As the court stated in Florida Power & Light Co.,
while we may agree that facially it is unfair for a property owner upon having his property taken by eminent domain to be subject to different standards of compensation depending on the condemnor, we feel that the remedy belongs within the legislative domain.
448 So. 2d at 1142.
We agree with the appellee’s argument that the appellant lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute as the appellant would not benefit from a finding by this court that the statute is unconstitutional. We cannot rewrite the statute to include the damages which the appellant seeks in this case. That is strictly a legislative function, and the appellant must look to the legislature for such relief.
Accordingly, we affirm the final judgment.
DANAHY, C.J., and UPCHURCH, FRANK D., JR., Associate Judge, concur.
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Texaco, Inc. v. Dep't OF Transp., 537 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 1989)…and Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority v. K.E. Morris Alignment Service, Inc., 444 So. 2d 926 (Fla.1983). A number of district court decisions have recognized these principles and followed our prior holdings. Sasnett v. Tampa Elec. Co., 513 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Florida Power & Light Co. v. First Nat’l Bank & Trust Co., 448 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Volusia County v. Pickens, 439 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 5th DCA [*94] 1983); City of Miami v. Coconut Grove Marine Properties, 358 So. 2d 115…
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Broward Cnty. v. Carney, 586 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…e prop [*427] erty taken and severance damages to the remainder, if any, do not constitute “full compensation” for taking of private property for a public purpose within the meaning of the Florida Constitution. See Sasnett v. Tampa Electric Company, 513 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1987). “Full compensation” for the taking of private property for a public purpose, within the meaning of the Florida Constitution, consists of two elements: the value of the property taken and severance damages to the remainder, if an…
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Kern v. Miami-Dade Cnty., 766 So. 2d 1080 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…ng to challenge the constitutionality of section 33-313 because Kern, whose rezoning application was denied unanimously, would not [*1081] benefit from a finding by this Court that section 33-313 was unconstitutional. See Sasnett v. Tampa Elec. Co., 513 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Accordingly, we affirm. . Section 33-313 provides, in relevant part: By resolution, the Board [of County Commissioners] shall either affirm, modify or reverse the Community .Zoning Appeals Board's decision and such action of t…
Authorities Cited
- Jamesson v. Downtown Dev. Auth. OF the City OF Fort Lauderdale, 322 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 1975)
- Division OF Administration v. Grant Motor Co., 345 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977)
- Fla. Power & Light Co. v. First Nat'l Bank & Tr. Co. OF Riviera Beach, 448 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
- State v. Fortune Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 507 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)