RONTA, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF FLORIDA, W. HERMAN MEEKS, JR., AS TAX COLLECTOR OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, THOMAS E. LEE, AS DIRECTOR OF THE STATE BEVERAGE DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND WILLIAM KIMMERLING, DOING BUSINESS AS PLAYMATES, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 1963-05-10
No. 3513
KANNER, Acting C. J., and BARNS, PAUL, Associate Judge, concur.
153 So. 2d 35 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1963) Caution
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Ronta, Inc. appealed a final decree denying its claim to recover an alcoholic beverage license that had been pledged as collateral by its predecessor's lessee. The court affirmed, holding that the appellant lacked sufficient notice and property interest to prevail against an innocent pledgee and subsequent purchaser whose transfer was approved by the State Beverage Director.


Holding

The court held that Ronta could not recover the license. The innocent pledgee and subsequent purchaser prevailed because: (1) the bank and Kimmerling had no notice of any lessor's claim under the unrecorded lease; (2) the State Beverage Director's approval of the transfer from the bank to Kimmerling implicitly approved the transfer to the bank; and (3) any challenge to the beverage license transfer must proceed through certiorari proceedings against the administrative agency, not through collateral attack in a chancery proceeding.


Key Quotes

“at the time the bank made the loan and received the collateral pledge of the beverage license it was unaware of any provisions in the lease which would have permitted the lessor [appellant's predecessor in title] to make a claim on the beverage license”

Establishes that the innocent pledgee had no notice of the appellant's potential claim, a critical factor in the decision

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Facts & Procedural History

Ronta's predecessor in title leased property to the Keators with a provision that the lessees would secure an alcoholic beverage license. The Keators …

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Opinion of the Court
BARKDULL, THOMAS H., Associate Judge.

BARKDULL, THOMAS H., Associate Judge.

The appellant, plaintiff in the trial court, seeks review of an adverse final decree.

The plaintiff, as successor in interest to the owners of certain real property, sought to recover a beverage license which had been in use on the property. It appears, from the record, that plaintiff’s predecessor in title entered into a, 10 year lease with parties by the name of Keator, as lessees, wherein and whereby it was provided that the lessees would secure a certain alcoholic beverage license from the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Beverage Department of the State of Florida; that such license was obtained and used on the premises. Subsequently, the Keators negotiated a loan from the Fort Lauderdale National Bank and collateralized said loan by a pledge of the alcoholic beverage license. This loan and collateral pledge was entered into in April, 1960. Prior to execution of the loan, plaintiff’s predecessor in title became involved in bankruptcy proceedings and the Trustee in Bankruptcy took over the lessor’s interest in and to the lease of the premises. In January, 1961, the leasehold was terminated and the Trustee in Bankruptcy accepted the surrender of the premises, but made a demand on the Keators [as the lessees of the property] to surrender the beverage license to him in accordance [as he alleged] with certain provisions of the lease. Thereafter, in April, 1961, when the indebtedness to the bank became due, instead of satisfying the indebtedness directly the Keators transferred and assigned the beverage license to the bank. On May 29, 1961, the bank conveyed the beverage license involved to the ap-pellee, William Kimmerling, d/b/a Playmates, which transfer was subsequently approved by the Director of the State Beverage Department. Thereafter, the Trustee in Bankruptcy transferred all his right, title and interest in and to the premises in question and in and to the particular beverage license to the appellant and, in November, 1961, the instant action was instituted to secure ownership of the beverage license and the appellees to this cause were named as defendants in the trial court.

The action of the chancellor in rendering a final decree in favor of the ap-pellees was correct. It is apparent from the record [and the appellant concedes] that at the time the bank made the loan and received the collateral pledge of the beverage license it was unaware of any provisions in the lease which would have permitted the lessor [appellant’s predecessor in title] to make a claim on the beverage license. It was also conceded by the appellant that the appellee Kimmerling at no time prior to tire purchase of the beverage license from the bank [and the satisfaction of the Keators’ debt to the bank] was on notice that the appellant’s predecessor in title would have had any claim to the beverage license by virtue of the lease agreement, which was never recorded.

Counsel for the appellant has raised the question of the effect of § 561.32, Fla.Stat., F.S.A., on the transfer of the license to the bank. It would appear from previous decisions of the Supreme Court of this State [see: Dade County v. Overstreet, Fla.1952, 59 So.2d 862; Hunter v. Solomon, Fla.1954, 75 So.2d 803] that the judicial interpretation of the statute has not been to make any transfers void ab initio, but merely void at the election of the State Beverage Director in the event of some infirmity either in the proposed new location or proposed new owner. The State Beverage Director, in the instant case, has already approved the transfer of the license from the bank to the appellee Kimmerling, therefore impliedly approving the transfer to the bank in the first instance. The administrative agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing the beverage law having approved the transfer, under the circumstances of this cause it would ap*37pear that the appropriate proceedings to review such approval would be through certiorari proceedings and not through collateral attack in an independent chancery proceeding. See: State Beverage Department of Florida v. Willis, 159 Fla. 698, 32 So.2d 580; Vocelle v. Maleszewski, 160 Fla. 291, 34 So.2d 436; § 561.29, Fla.Stat., F.S.A.

Therefore, for the reasons above set forth, the final decree rendered by the chancellor is affirmed.

Affirmed.

KANNER, Acting C. J., and BARNS, PAUL, Associate Judge, concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Kemmons Wilson, Inc. v. Atl. Utils. OF Sarasota, Inc., 523 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
    …rasota County. The court properly concluded that the action of the Board of County Commissioners was quasi-judicial and subject to review only by certiorari. Teston v. City of Tampa, 143 So. 2d 473 (Fla.1962). Ronta, Inc. v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 153 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d [*635] DCA 1963). See also Vocelle v. Maleszewski, 160 Fla. 291, 34 So. 2d 436 (Fla.1948); State Beverage Department v. Willis, 159 Fla. 698, 32 So. 2d 580 (Fla.1947). The trial court correctly considered the complaint against Sarasota Coun…
  • Lachance v. Desperado's OF Holly Hill, Inc., 760 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)
    …mine prior to making its loan to Desperado’s, and therefore, it had an opportunity to protect itself from the misrepresentations of Desperado’s. Our conclusion does not conflict with the conclusion reached in Ronta, Inc. v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 153 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963), a case relied upon by the parties. The facts in Ronta were quite similar to those in the instant case, but a bank having a security interest in a beverage license prevailed. The bank obtained its security interest and subsequentl…

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