SOPHIE SUMNER, APPELLANT,
v.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES, CITY OF PENSACOLA FIREFIGHTERS' RELIEF AND PENSION FUND, APPELLEE
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Sophie Sumner appealed a final administrative order from the Board of Trustees of the City of Pensacola Firefighters' Relief and Pension Fund, but the appeal was dismissed as premature because the order had not been properly filed with the agency clerk, depriving the court of jurisdiction.
The court lacks jurisdiction to review the order because it had not been rendered—an order is rendered only when a signed written copy is filed with the clerk of the lower tribunal. Even absent a formally designated clerk, an agency must file its order with the person whose functions most closely resemble those of a clerk.
[1] An appeal from a final administrative order is premature if the order has not been rendered by the agency.
[2] An administrative order is rendered when a signed written copy of the order is filed with the clerk of the lower tribunal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An order is rendered when a signed written copy of the order is filed with the clerk of the lower tribunal.”
Establishes the requirement for rendering a final order under Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.020(h)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Board of Trustees of the City of Pensacola Firefighters' Relief and Pension Fund signed a final administrative order dated September 14, 2011. Sum…
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The order to be reviewed by this appeal is a final administrative order of the Board of Trustees, City of Pensacola Firefighters’ Relief and Pension Fund, signed by the Chairman and dated September 14, 2011. However, because the order has not been rendered by the agency, the appeal is premature. Fla. R.App. P. 9.110(Z).
*124An order is rendered when a signed written copy of the order is filed with the clerk of the lower tribunal. Fla. R.App. P. 9.020(h). Where an administrative order has not been filed with the agency clerk, the agency has not rendered its final order. Hill v. Division of Retirement, 687 So.2d 1376, 1377 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). The appellant concedes that the order to be reviewed has not been filed with the agency clerk. Therefore, the Court lacks jurisdiction to review the order on appeal. Although the appellant asserts that the Board of Trustees could not properly render an appealable order because it has not designated an agency clerk, “if no person or official has been specifically so designated, the official or agent who most closely resembles a clerk in the functions performed” is the agency clerk. Fla. R.App. P. 9.020(b); see also Presidents’ Council of SD, Inc. v. Walton County, 36 So.3d 764, 765 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (noting that the agency clerk was the person in charge of filing the agency’s administrative orders even though her job title did not expressly identify her as the clerk); see generally § 175.061(2), Fla. Stat. (2010) (providing that the trustees shall elect a secretary who shall keep a complete minute book of the actions, proceedings, or hearings of the board).
DISMISSED.
WOLF, CLARK, and WETHERELL, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hill v. Division OF Retirement, 687 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- Presidents' Council OF SD, Inc. v. Walton Cnty., 36 So. 3d 764 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)