CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ARLINE WEINER, EDWARD HARMENING, LYNNE MATSON, JOSE AGUILA, LILLIAN R. ARTIS, J. SCOTT MILLER, AND WILLIAM SULLIVAN, APPELLANTS,
v.
VINCENT A. FINIZIO, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1992-12-30
Nos. 91-2988, 92-0572
POLEN, J., and DOWNEY, JAMES C., Senior Judge, concur.
611 So. 2d 74 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

The City of Boynton Beach appealed a temporary injunction and mandamus writ issued in favor of employee Vincent Finizio regarding implementation of a Civil Service Board's favorable grievance decision. The court reversed the injunction because loss of employment does not constitute irreparable harm, but reversed the lower court's quashing of the mandamus writ because the City Charter made the Board's decision final and the City failed to appeal it.


Holding

The court held that the temporary injunction was improperly issued because loss of employment does not constitute irreparable harm. The court also held that the City's charter made the Civil Service Board's decision final, and because the City did not appeal the Board's decision, it was legally obligated to implement it; thus the mandamus writ was properly issued and should not have been quashed.


Headnotes

[1] The threat of loss of employment does not constitute irreparable harm for the purpose of issuing a temporary injunction.

[2] A city charter provision stating that a Civil Service Board's decision "shall be final" creates a clear legal duty to implement that decision when no appeal is taken.

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Key Quotes

“its decision ... shall be final”

Language from the City of Boynton Beach charter establishing that Civil Service Board decisions are final, creating the City's legal duty to implement them

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Facts & Procedural History

In April 1989, City employee Vincent Finizio initiated a grievance after being suspended for half a day, alleging unfair labor practices. The Civil Se…

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Opinion of the Court
HERSEY, Judge.

HERSEY, Judge.

These consolidated appeals arise out of an employment dispute between Vincent Finizio and the City of Boynton Beach (the City).

In April 1989 Finizio, an employee of the City, initiated an employee grievance procedure alleging unfair labor practices, after being suspended from work for half of one day. The Civil Service Board found in favor of Finizio, but the City refused to implement the Board’s recommendation. However, the City did not appeal the Board’s decision.

Finizio commenced legal proceedings, culminating in the two appeals under consideration. He initially sought mandamus, requesting that the City be forced to implement the Board’s recommendation, and he thereafter obtained a temporary injunction to prevent the City from hiring someone to replace him.

Case 91-2988.

The trial court enjoined any engineer to be hired by the City from performing the duties that Finizio was currently performing. The City, on appeal, argues that (1) the injunction was improvidently granted, (2) it did not contain the specifics required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610(c), and, (3) the bond of $100.00 was insufficient under the circumstances.

The requisites for issuance of a temporary injunction are well established. See, e.g., South Florida Limousines, Inc. v. Broward Co. Aviation Dept., 512 So. 2d 1059 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). One of the elements is that the applicant will suffer irreparable harm. We have held that the threat of loss of employment does not constitute irreparable harm. E.g. Dania Jai Alai Int’l v. Murua, 375 So. 2d 57, 58 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); City of Hallandale v. Inglima, 346 So. 2d 84 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Florida Dep’t of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. Artis, 345 So. 2d 1109, 1111 — 12 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). Thus, we reverse Case 91-2988 on the basis of the impropriety of the injunction’s issuance, rendering moot the question of its contents and the amount of its bond.

Case 92-0572.

The trial court issued an alternative writ of mandamus requiring the City to comply with the recommendations of the Civil Service Board or to show cause for its refusal to do so. The court subsequently quashed the writ, finding that Finizio “fail[ed] to demonstrate the existence of a clear legal duty imposed upon the Defendants [the City] to implement the decision of the Civil Service Board on October 10, 1989. The Plaintiff has failed to show that he has a legal right to the performance sought to be enforced.” We disagree with this holding and reverse case 92-0572.

The charter of the City of Boynton Beach provides with regard to proceedings of the Civil Service Board that “its decision ... shall be final_” § 72.12(h), Boynton Beach City Charter. No appeal was taken by the City from the Board’s findings and recommendations. We find no merit in the City’s argument that suspensions of less than six days do not come within the jurisdiction of the Board. In any event, such argument was not preserved by an appeal and comes too late in these proceedings.

We hold that the alternative writ was properly issued and thus improperly quashed, and we reverse. This renders the jurisdictional question also raised by Fini-zio moot.

REVERSED AS TO BOTH APPEALS; REMANDED.

POLEN, J., and DOWNEY, JAMES C., Senior Judge, concur.


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Cited By

  • Dolgencorp, Inc. v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 2 So. 3d 325 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)
    …he grocery exclusive contained in WINN-DIXIE'S lease with [the landlord], . Because we find that the trial court erred in granting injunctive relief, we decline to address the remaining points raised on appeal. See City of Boynton Beach v. Finizio, 611 So. 2d 74, 75 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); see also Xavier J. Fernandez, P.A. v. Sun Bank of Tampa Bay, 670 So. 2d 1106 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).…

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