BUDGET RENT-A-CAR SYSTEMS, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
EDDIE BENNETT, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF LADARREN L. DARDEN, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Budget Rent-A-Car appeals from summary judgment declaring Chapter 99-225, Florida law (limiting short-term vehicle lessor liability to $800,000) unconstitutional. The court reverses, holding that the statute satisfies the single-subject requirement and does not violate constitutional rights of access to courts, jury trial, equal protection, or due process.
Chapter 99-225 does not violate the single-subject rule and Section 324.021 does not violate the right of access to courts, the right to trial by jury, or the equal protection and due process clauses of the Florida Constitution.
[1] Statutes are presumed constitutional, and all doubt is resolved in favor of constitutionality.
[2] An act will not be declared unconstitutional unless its invalidity is established beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is a strong presumption in favor of the constitutionality of statutes [...] All doubt will be resolved in favor of the constitutionality of a statute, and an act will not be declared unconstitutional unless it is determined to be invalid beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Establishes the high standard for invalidating a statute on constitutional grounds
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn November 1999, a Miami resident rented a car from Budget for less than one year. The car was involved in an accident on November 10, 1999, killing …
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant/Defendant Budget Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc. (“Budget”) appeals from an order granting Summary Final Judgment to the Appellees/Plaintiffs on the basis that Chapter 99-225, Laws of Florida, violates the single-subject requirement of Article III, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution. We reverse.
On November 5,1999, a resident of Miami rented an automobile for a term of less than one year from Budget. On November 10, 1999, the automobile was involved in an accident. Four passengers were killed, and one was seriously injured. The Plaintiffs brought wrongful death actions and an action for personal injury against Budget as the vicariously liable vehicle owner under Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine.
After the filing of the Complaints, Budget informed the Plaintiffs that pursuant to Section 324.021(9)(b)(2), Florida Statutes (1999), which limits the liability of short term lessors for motor vehicles, its maximum liability to the Plaintiffs was $800,000.00, and offered to tender that amount.
However, the Plaintiffs filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, contending that Section 324.021(9)(b)(2) was unconstitutional because it violated their right of access to courts, trial by jury, equal protection, due process, and the single-subject rule under the Florida Constitution. Both parties filed Motions for Summary Judgment on the constitutionality of Chapter 99-225, Laws of Florida, and Section 324.021(9)(b)(2), Florida Statutes (1999).
The trial court entered an Order which granted summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs, concluding that Chapter 99-225, Laws of Florida, in which Section 324.021(9)(b)(2) is comprised, “in its entirety violates the single-subject requirement of Article III, § 6 of the Florida Constitution because it embraces more than one subject.” This appeal follows.
There is a strong presumption in favor of the constitutionality of statutes. See Burch v. State, 558 So. 2d 1, 3 (Fla.1990) (citing State v. Kinner, 398 So. 2d 1360, 1363 (Fla.1981)). All doubt will be resolved in favor of the constitutionality of a statute, and an act will not be declared unconstitutional unless it is determined to be invalid beyond a reasonable doubt. See id. at 3 (citing Kinner, 398 So. 2d at 1363). Budget contends that the trial court erred in finding that Chapter 99-225, Laws of Florida, violates the single-subject rule. Budget further argues that Section 824.021(9)(b)(2) itself violates no provision of the Florida Constitution.
We agree with Budget for the reasons set forth by the First District Court of Appeal in Enterprise Leasing Co. South Central, Inc. v. Hughes, 883 So. 2d 832 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). In Enterprise Leasing, the First District reversed a trial court’s determination that Chapter 99-225 was unconstitutional, concluding that Chapter 99-225 does not violate the single-subject rule. See id. at 834-36.
Moreover, the Court also held that Section 324.021 does not violate (1) a plaintiffs right of access to courts, (2) a plaintiffs right to trial by jury, and (3) the equal protection and due process clauses of the Florida Constitution. See id. at 836-39.
Accordingly, this cause is reversed and remanded to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
Reversed.
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Ubaldo Vicente Sontay v. AVIS Rent-A-Car Sys., Inc., 872 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…48, 548 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), in which we aligned ourselves with the first and third districts that have already rejected such an argument. See Enter. Leasing Co. v. Hughes, 833 So. 2d 832 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002); Budget Rent-A-Car Sys. v. Eddie Bennett, 847 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). Sontay .argues that section 324.021(9) is unconstitutional as violative of (1) a plaintiffs right of access to courts, (2) a plaintiffs right to trial by jury, and (3) the equal protection and due process clauses of the Florida…
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Determann v. Anser, Inc., 859 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…chapter 99-225, which amended section 57.105, is unconstitutional as violative of the single subject rule, we align ourselves with the first and third districts, which have rejected similar arguments. See Budget Rent-A-Car Systems v. Eddie Bennett, 847 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); Enterprise Leasing Co. v. Hughes, 833 So. 2d 832 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). AFFIRMED. STONE, POLEN and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.…
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McNEIL v. The HERTZ Corp. & Fred Lipsius, 874 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Sontay v. Avis Rentr-A-Car Systems, Inc., 872 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004); Budget Rentr-A-Car Systems, Inc. v. Bennett, 847 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); and Enterprise Leasing Co. v. Hughes, 833 So. 2d 832 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). POLEN, MAY, JJ., and BERNSTEIN, SCOTT M., Associate Judge, concur.…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Burch v. State, 558 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1990)
- State v. Kinner, 398 So. 2d 1360 (Fla. 1981)