SSA SECURITY INC., A/K/A SECURITY SERVICES OF AMERICA, APPELLANT,
v.
JACQUES PIERRE, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2010-10-07
No. 1D10-2634
WEBSTER, DAVIS, and VAN NORTWICK, JJ„ concur.
44 So. 3d 1272 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2010) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

SSA Security Inc. appealed an administrative order from the Commission on Human Relations awarding relief to an employee for unlawful employment practices. The appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the administrative order was not a final appealable agency action.


Holding

The order is not a final appealable agency action because the Commission has not disposed of the case and has reserved jurisdiction over material matters, including the specific amounts of back pay and interest. An administrative order lacking the ability to be executed against the appellant's property and reserving future proceedings is not final in most respects and therefore is not appealable.


Headnotes

[1] An administrative order is not appealable final agency action if the agency has reserved jurisdiction over matters essential to the final disposition of the case.

[2] An administrative order is not final if the agency has not disposed of the case or brought an end to the administrative proceedings.

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Key Quotes

“we lack jurisdiction to review the administrative order because it is not appealable final agency action”

Establishes the fundamental jurisdictional defect preventing review of the appeal.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Commission on Human Relations issued an order determining that SSA Security Inc. engaged in unlawful employment practices against Jacques Pierre. …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant brought this timely appeal from a “Final Order Awarding Affirmative Relief from an Unlawful Employment Practice” issued by the Commission on Human Relations. However, we lack jurisdiction to review the administrative order because it is not appealable final agency action. See Hill v. Div. Of Retirement, 687 So.2d 1376, 1377 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) (holding the finality of an administrative order depends on whether the case is disposed of by the order).

In its order, the Commission on Human Relations determined liability in favor of appellee and directed appellant to cease *1273and desist from its unlawful employment practices. Additionally, appellant was ordered to pay appellee’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs and to remit back pay to appellee in a specific dollar amount “for each normal 40-hour week between September 5, 2006, and the date of this final order, offset by earnings from substitute employment, if any.” However, the Commission reserved jurisdiction over, among other matters, the amounts of back pay and interest to be awarded. The parties were directed to either submit a joint stipulation of settlement or file a notice of failure of settlement, after which the case would be remanded to the administrative law judge for a determination on the specific amount of back pay due. Therefore, it is clear that the Commission has not disposed of the case or brought an end to the administrative proceedings.

Appellant does not contend that the order on appeal is final agency action but, instead, argues the order should be deemed final because it is final in most respects. See McGurn v. Scott, 596 So.2d 1042 (Fla.1992). Specifically, the order is styled as a final order, it determined liability, “and, at least initially, it instructs the parties to reach an agreement on what the appropriate remedy should be.” Additionally, appellant asserts that the formula provided in the order for calculating the amount of back pay renders this issue similar to a calculation of prejudgment interest, the pendency of which was not enough to prevent the order on appeal in McGum from being deemed final.

However, contrary to appellant’s assertion, the order on appeal is not final in most respects. Most significantly, unlike the order in McGum, the order here does not afford appellee the right to execute against appellant’s property. Therefore, the instant order does not place appellant in a “procedural quandary” similar to that faced by McGurn. Cf. McGurn, 596 So.2d at 1044. Consequently, we need not take the extraordinary action of deeming the order final, which would also require that we deem as waived by the parties any matter reserved for future adjudication under the ineffective reservation of jurisdiction. Id., 596 So.2d at 1045. Because the order does not appear in most respects to be a final order, the order is not deemed final. See Abifaraj v. Fla. Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Ass’n, 844 So.2d 751 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).

We deny as moot “Appellee’s Motion Under Rule 9.600(b),” served on June 11, 2010; “Appellee’s Motion to Dismiss the Appeal,” served on July 14, 2010; and “Appellant’s Motion for the Court to Proceed with a Determination of the Instant Appeal,” served on September 17, 2010.

The appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

WEBSTER, DAVIS, and VAN NORTWICK, JJ„ concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Fla. Dep't OF Corr. v. Schwarz, 134 So. 3d 1002 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)
    …them. We entered the order dismissing the appeal from PERC’s June 3, 2011 order on overwhelming (if not wholly consistent) authority. See Mathis v. Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 726 So. 2d 389, 391 n. 2 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). See also SSA Sec. Inc. v. Pierre, 44 So. 3d 1272, 1273 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (holding order of the Florida Commission on Human Relations which determined liability in favor of appellee and ordered appellant to remit back pay, but reserved jurisdiction over the amount of back pay to be awarded, was n…
  • …ward, ordering the payment of back pay, and concluding that “JUDGMENT is entered for [UFF].” FAMU filed a notice of appeal and we issued an order to show cause, indicating that the order did not appear to be final and citing SSA Sec. Inc. v. Pierre, 44 So. 3d 1272, 1273 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010), which found that an administrative order requiring the payment of back pay, but reserving jurisdiction to set the amount, was not final and thus not appealable. In response, FAMU moved for voluntary dismissal and we dismis…

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