GEORGE ALEXANDER, APPELLANT,
v.
THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1999-09-13
No. 98-1970
BEFORE: GERSTEN, GREEN, and SORONDO, JJ.
745 So. 2d 1004 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1999) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 cases

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Synopsis

George Alexander appealed the dismissal of his second amended complaint seeking a writ of mandamus against the City of Coral Gables to enforce the South Florida Building Code regarding drainage and encroachment issues on an adjoining property. The court affirmed the dismissal, holding that the building official's issuance of a certificate of completion is a discretionary act unsuitable for mandamus relief.


Holding

The court held that mandamus is unavailable to compel acts involving the exercise of discretion or judgment, and the building official's issuance of a certificate of completion is a discretionary act, not a ministerial duty required by law.


Headnotes

[1] Mandamus is a remedy to compel a public official to perform a ministerial duty required by law, not an act involving discretion.

[2] The issuance of a certificate of completion for a building project is a discretionary act and therefore not subject to a writ of mandamus.

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Key Quotes

“Mandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law.”

Establishes the foundational requirement for mandamus that the duty must be ministerial, not discretionary

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Facts & Procedural History

Alexander owned a two-story commercial building used as a photography studio in Coral Gables. An adjacent commercial office building with parking gara…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by the appellant, George Alexander, from an order dismissing, with prejudice, Alexander’s second amended complaint which sought the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus against the City of Coral Gables (“the City”) for enforcement of the South Florida Building Code. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Alexander owns a two-story commercial building in the City which he uses as a photography studio. In 1994, Two Twenty Alhambra, L.C. (below “the defendants”) began construction of a commercial office building with a parking garage located on the lot. adjoining Alexander’s property. Alexander’s second amended complaint alleged that when it rains, the water often deposits between both his and the defendants buildings in violation of section 4611.1 of the South Florida Building Code.1 Moreover, in late 1996, Alexander discovered that the foundation of the adjoining parking lot encroached upon his property by four inches.

Despite Alexander’s complaints, the city’s building official ultimately found the defendants’ building to be within the code.2 Thereafter, the budding official issued a certificate of completion to the defendants. Alexander never objected to the issuance of the certificate of completion. Instead, Alexander brought suit against the defendants for nuisance, trespass and negligence.

The complaint was later amended to add a count for mandamus against the City. This count sought a writ of mandamus requiring the City to order the defendants to resolve the drainage problem and the encroachment issues. Alexander Voluntarily dismissed the count against the City in the amended complaint after the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the mandamus count. Thereafter, a second amended complaint was filed which again contained a count against the City for mandamus.

The City moved to dismiss Alexander’s second amended complaint arguing that the issuance of a certificate of completion is discretionary and thus an improper subject matter for mandamus. The trial court granted the city’s motion to dismiss with prejudice. Alexander now appeals.

As this Court has previously stated: “Mandamus is a recognized remedy to require a public official, who is clothed with the authority, to discharge his duty.” City of Miami Beach v. Sunset Islands 3 & 4 Property Owners Ass’n., 216 So. 2d 509, 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968). See also, e.g., Puckett v. Gentry, 577 So. 2d 965, 967 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (holding that “[mjandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law.”). To that end, an act is deemed ministerial when “there is no room for the exercise of discretion.” Town of Manalapan v. Rechler, 674 So. 2d 789, 790 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (citing Solomon v. Sanitarians’ Registration Bd., 155 So. 2d 353 (Fla.1963)).

In this case, it is clear that the building official’s act of issuing a certificate of completion was a discretionary act and thus not a proper matter for mandamus. See PCA Life Ins. Co. v. Metropolitan-Dade County, 682 So. 2d 1102, 1103 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (stating that “[m]andamus is not available to compel an act which involves the ‘exercise of discretion or judgment.’ ”) (quoting State of Florida ex rel. Zuckerman-Vernon Corp. v. City of Miramar, 306 So. 2d 173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974)). Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal with prejudice of the City of Coral Gables from Alexander’s lawsuit.

. Section 4611.1 "Disposition of Rainwater” provides in pertinent part:

(a) Rainwater or other liquid wastes from any premises shall be disposed of where same originates and/or falls in such manner as herein provided. The disposal of any rainwater or other liquid wastes by causing or allowing same to be disposed of or flow on or across any adjoining public property or sidewalk shall be deemed a nuisance, and shall be corrected by properly disposing of same in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 24 of the Code of Metropolitan Dade County and Ordinance No. 95-27.

. The building official of the city applies and interprets the South Florida Building Code ("the code”). See South Fla. Bldg.Code § 201.1(b)(1) (Rev.1994) ("[t]he Building Official is hereby authorized and directed to interpret and enforce all of the provisions of this Code ... ”).


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Citator

Cited By

  • …scharge a Ministerial Duty “Mandamus is a recognized remedy to require a public official, who is clothed with the authority, to discharge his duty.” Dante v. Ryan, 979 So. 2d 1122, 1123 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (quoting Alexander v. City of Coral Gables, 745 So. 2d 1004, 1005 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)); see also Browning v. Young, 993 So. 2d 64, 65 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (stating that mandamus is a civil remedy to compel a public official to discharge a ministerial duty); Eichelberger v. Brueckheimer, 613 So. 2d 1372, 1373 (…
  • Detournay v. City OF Coral Gables, 127 So. 3d 869 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)
    …egard dovetails with the cases holding that a writ of mandamus cannot issue against a city on behalf of a private party to require the city to enforce its building and zoning laws against another private party. See Alexander v. City of Coral Gables, 745 So. 2d 1004, 1005 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (holding that mandamus does not lie to compel a city to enforce its zoning regulations, because the decision whether to enforce is discretionary); Centrust Sav. Bank v. City of Miami, 491 So. 2d 576, 577 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (…
  • Caruso v. Baumle, 776 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
    …legal right by compelling a public officer to perform a duty required by law. See Walker v. Walker, 654 So. 2d 1049 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). The official duty in question must be ministerial and not discretionary. See Alexander v. City of Coral Gables, 745 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). Mandamus lies to compel a judge to rule on a case when there is no lawful basis to reserve ruling. See Quintana v. Barad, 528 So. 2d 1300 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). The petitioners have not established a clear legal right that the tria…

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