IN RE FORFEITURE OF 1998 FORD PICKUP, IDENTIFICATION NO. 1FTZX1767WNA34547. BOBBY E. WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
CAL HENDERSON, SHERIFF OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2000-10-13
No. 2D00-472
THREADGILL, A.C.J., and FULMER, J., Concur.
779 So. 2d 450 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2000) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

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Synopsis

Bobby E. Williams challenges the forfeiture of his 1998 Ford pickup truck based on alleged lewd and lascivious conduct. The court reversed the forfeiture because the trial court's summary judgment rested on affidavits that were legally insufficient under Florida civil procedure rules, as they contained inadmissible hearsay rather than personal knowledge testimony.


Holding

The court held that the detective's affidavits were insufficient because they violated Rule 1.510(e) requirements: they lacked true personal knowledge (the detective was not present during the alleged acts), the affiant lacked competency to testify about events he did not witness, and the facts constituted inadmissible hearsay. Summary judgment was therefore improper and reversed.


Headnotes

[1] Summary judgment affidavits must be made on personal knowledge, affirmatively show the affiant's competence to testify, and set forth facts admissible in evidence.

[2] An affidavit based on information learned during an investigation, rather than direct personal observation of the events in question, constitutes hearsay and is insuffici…

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Key Quotes

“The detective's affidavits were insufficient under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(e), which requires that all summary judgment affidavits be made on personal knowledge and affirmatively show that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters in the affidavit.”

Establishes the legal standard for affidavits in summary judgment proceedings

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Facts & Procedural History

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office filed a forfeiture complaint alleging that Williams exposed himself to two young girls while sitting in his t…

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Opinion of the Court
DAVIS, Judge.

DAVIS, Judge.

Bobby E. Williams challenges the final order declaring his 1998 Ford pickup truck forfeited as contraband under section 932.701, Florida Statutes (1997). We reverse the forfeiture because it was based on a summary judgment that the trial court had entered in reliance on unopposed, but insufficient, affidavits pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(e).

In its complaint for forfeiture, the Sheriffs Office alleged that, while sitting inside his truck, Williams exposed himself to two young girls, in violation of section 800.04, Florida Statutes (1997), which proscribes lewd and lascivious acts in the presence of a child under sixteen. The Sheriffs Office subsequently moved for summary judgment, alleging the same facts and stating that those facts were supported by the affidavit of a Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office detective. The detective averred in that affidavit that he investigated a lewd and lascivious act on May 6, 1999, and was personally present at the time and place of the arrest and the seizure of the vehicle. The detective further averred that Williams was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts in the presence of a child under sixteen. He then recited the same facts alleged in the initial complaint. In a separate document entitled, “Verification of Complaint for Forfeiture Affidavit,” the detective averred that the facts alleged in the complaint were “true and correct based upon personal knowledge of information developed during the course of my investigation.”

The detective’s affidavits were insufficient under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(e), which requires that all summary judgment affidavits be made on personal knowledge and affirmatively show that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters in the affidavit. See Zoda v. Hedden, 596 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). The rule also requires the affidavit to set forth facts that would be admissible in evidence. The detective’s affidavits do not comply with any of these requirements.

First, despite the detective’s averment that the facts in the complaint were true based on his personal knowledge, that simply could not be true. He was not an eyewitness to the offense. He did not ,arrive at the scene until.after the acts had been completed. Therefore, the facts he recited as personal knowledge had to have come from the statements of the two victims, which makes those statements hearsay. See § 90.801, Fla. Stat. (1997). Second, because the detective was not present when the acts occurred, he is not competent to testify to what did occur. Third, because the facts as stated constituted hearsay, and did not fall within any of the hearsay exceptions, they could not be introduced into evidence. See § 90.803, Fla. Stat. (1997).

Since the trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and entered its final judgment of forfeiture based solely on the detective’s incompetent and insufficient affidavit, we must conclude that the trial court entered summary judgment without the benefit of any facts. Accordingly, summary judgment was improper. See Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1966).

We acknowledge that the State is correct that Williams’ acquittal or conviction for the underlying charge is irrelevant to a civil forfeiture action, see Vasquez v. City of Hialeah, 487 So. 2d 72 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), and that the standard of proof in criminal cases is far greater than in civil forfeiture actions, where the standard is clear and convincing evidence. See § 932.704(8), Fla. Stat. (1997). However, the trial court in this case was not presented with clear and convincing evidence to support the forfeiture. In fact, the State presented no evidence to support the forfeiture.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

THREADGILL, A.C.J., and FULMER, J., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Lionita Coleman v. Grandma's Place, Inc., 63 So. 3d 929 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
    …judgment in favor of Grandma’s Place. This particular insufficiency, however, does not render the entire motion for summary judgment insufficient because other factors were considered by the court in reaching its decision. Cf. Williams v. Henderson, 779 So. 2d 450, 451 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (providing that the trial court’s sole reliance on an insufficient affidavit in granting summary judgment would be improper). Despite the sufficiency of the motion for summary judgment, we agree with Coleman that factual dis…
  • Ismail Cira and Lirije Cira v. Dellinger, 903 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
    …10. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(e) provides in pertinent part that “[sjupport-ing and opposing affidavits shall ... set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence.” See Williams v. Henderson (In re Forfeiture of 1998 Ford Pickup), 779 So. 2d 450, 451 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). The appellants conclude that the summary judgment must be reversed because it was based solely on the nolo contendere pleas and evidence relating to the pleas would be inadmissible. Section 90.410 provides as follows: Evid…
  • Enter. Leasing Co. v. Demartino, 15 So. 3d 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
    …of action for reformation based on mutual mistake was incompetent when it contained allegations concerning matters about which the affiant could not have personal knowledge); In re Forfeiture of 1998 Ford Pickup, Identification No. lFTZXl767WNA3m7, 779 So. 2d 450, 451 [*715] (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (holding that when a supporting affidavit affirmatively showed on its face that the affiant was not competent to testify to the matters included in the affidavit, the trial court erred by relying on that affidavit when…

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