CONTINENTAL EQUITIES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, PETITIONER,
v.
JACKSONVILLE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, A CORPORATE BODY POLITIC AND AN AGENCY OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 1st DCA | 1990-03-14
No. 90-431
ERVIN, WENTWORTH and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.
558 So. 2d 154 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1990) Positive Treatment
Cited by 29 cases

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Synopsis

Continental Equities sought damages for breach of contract against Jacksonville Transportation Authority, alleging JTA failed to construct promised service roads and highway access roads. The trial court adopted JTA's damages measure (property value difference) rather than Continental's (construction cost), and Continental petitioned for certiorari review before trial.


Holding

The petition for writ of certiorari is denied on jurisdictional grounds because potential waste of time and money from trial court error is not the type of injury that justifies certiorari review, and appellate courts should be conservative in accepting certiorari jurisdiction over interlocutory orders.


Headnotes

[1] Common law certiorari requires a showing that the lower tribunal's order constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law and may cause material injury for…

[2] Potential waste of time and money incurred if a trial court error is not corrected before trial does not constitute the type of irreparable injury required for common law…

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Key Quotes

“a petitioner seeking relief from an appellate court by the writ of common law certiorari must demonstrate two elements, that the lower tribunal's order constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law and that it may cause material injury for which the remedy by appeal will be inadequate”

Establishes the two-part test required for certiorari jurisdiction

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Facts & Procedural History

Continental transferred real property to JTA as part of a transaction in which JTA agreed to construct service roads on both sides of a limited access…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Continental Equities, Inc. (Continental) brought an action in circuit court seeking damages for breach of contract. It was alleged that plaintiff had transferred certain real property to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). As part of the transaction JTA agreed that in the event a limited access highway was constructed on the property in question, it would construct a service road on both sides of the highway and provide access to the highway from the service road at certain intervals. JTA constructed the limited access highway but not the service and access roads.

By a motion in limine, JTA sought to limit Continental’s proof of damages. Defendant’s position was that, assuming plaintiff could otherwise prove the elements of its cause of action, the proper measure of damages would be the difference between the value of its adjacent property with the roads provided for in the contract and without them. Continental’s theory was that damages could be proven by showing the cost of construction of the service and access roads. By order of February 9, 1990, the Circuit Court for Duval County, Judge Peter Webster presiding, accepted JTA’s theory of the proper measure of damages and granted its motion in li-mine. This timely petition for writ of certiorari followed.

In his order granting relief to JTA, Judge Webster recited:

Both parties have acknowledged that this issue is very important to resolution of the dispute between the parties and that great expense of judicial labor and costs to the parties in both time and money can be saved by a definitive determination. Were this court empowered by the rules of appellate procedure to certify the question as resolved by the foregoing portions of this order, then the court would do so because the court is convinced that large sums of money in attorney’s fees and costs of litigation and expenditure of judicial labor at both the trial and the appellate levels can be saved by appellate determination prior to trial. Absent authority to certify, however, this court anticipates that review will sought by way of common law certiorari ...

In its petition, Continental makes a similar argument as to why this court should accept jurisdiction and review the trial court’s order, that is, that if the ruling on damages is incorrect, the matter would have to be re-tried after an appeal and at great expense to the parties. Respondent JTA has filed an “initial response” to the petition echoing this view and asking this court to resolve the dispute on the merits. We find we cannot.

It is axiomatic that a petitioner seeking relief from an appellate court by the writ of common law certiorari must demonstrate two elements, that the lower tribunal’s order constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law and that it may cause material injury for which the remedy by appeal will be inadequate. Esman v. Board of Regents, 425 So. 2d 156 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). It is also well-established, however, that potential waste of time and money which would be incurred if a trial court error is not corrected before trial is not that type of injury. Hawaiian Inn v. Snead Construction Corp., 393 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); Ford Motor Co. v. Nelson, 355 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Siegel v. Abramowitz, 309 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). The most recent pronouncement from the Supreme Court of Florida on certiorari jurisdiction suggests, if anything, the district courts of this state should be even more conservative in accepting certiorari jurisdiction to review interlocutory orders than they have been in the past. Martin-Johnson, Inc. v. Savage, 509 So. 2d 1097 (Fla.1987).

Upon consideration of the above, the petition for writ of certiorari is denied on jurisdictional grounds.

ERVIN, WENTWORTH and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (15 total)

  • Boyd v. Pheo, Inc., 664 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
    …reject petitioner’s assertion that certiorari review is warranted because the trial court’s order lessens her ability to prepare her case and increases the cost of litigation. Cf., Continental Equities, Inc. v. Jacksonville Transportation Authority, 558 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) (the burden and expense of an allegedly unnecessary trial is not irreparable harm for purposes of certiorari analysis). Finally, we acknowledge that this court has recently granted certiorari relief in a factual circumstance som…
  • State v. Lozano, 616 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)
    …hich cannot be remedied on appeal from a final order. Ordinarily, the time, trouble, and expense of an unnecessary trial are not considered “irreparable injury” for these purposes, Continental Equities, Inc. v. Jacksonville Transportation Authority, 558 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). The “irreparable injury” test must be satisfied in a certiorari proceeding that arises from a criminal case, as well. See Tart v. State, 96 Fla. 77, 117 So. 698 (1928); Mingle v. State, 429 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Smith…
  • Charlotte Cnty. v. Gen. Dev. Utils., Inc., 653 So. 2d 1081 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
    …2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). “[T]he time, trouble, and expense of an unnecessary trial are not considered ‘irreparable injury for these purposes.” Lozano, 616 So. 2d at 75. See also Continental Equities, Inc. v. Jacksonville Transportation Authority, 558 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). The PSC authority to regulate water and wastewater systems is set forth in section 367.011(2), which provides: (2) The Florida Public Service Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction over eaeh utility with respect to its a…

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