A. F. THOMASSON, AS CITY MANAGER OF THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG, ET AL.,
v.
STATE, EX REL M. S. BEERS
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The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's decision compelling a municipality to levy taxes for defaulted bonds and interest, rejecting the argument that the trial court abused its discretion by not spreading the levy over three years as in a prior case. The court noted the trial court could have exercised discretion differently but did not abuse it by not doing so.
No, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by failing to spread the tax levy over three years. While the trial court could have exercised its discretion in that manner, its failure to do so did not constitute an abuse of discretion.
“While the trial court might have within the exercise of sound judicial discretion, followed the course pursued in the above cited case, there is no element of abuse of discretion in the failure to do so.”
This quote establishes the court's reasoning that the trial court's decision, while not the only possible one, did not constitute an abuse of discretion.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe City of St. Petersburg was ordered by a lower court to levy taxes to pay defaulted municipal bonds and accrued interest. The municipality sought t…
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The writ of error is to review final judgment awarding peremptory writ of mandamus requiring the municipality to levy taxes for the payment of certain municipal bonds and accrued defaulted interest and spreading the levy over three years.
Although the municipality was granted a spread of the levy in equal moieties so far as the principal of the bonds was involved, when the amount of such principal was of comparative small amount, it asks us to review the judgment and hold that the Judge indulged in an abuse of discretion in not withholding the writ in the manner indulged by this Court in the case of State, ex rel. Sterling Bottome, v. City of St. Petersburg, et al., 126 Fla. 230, 170 Sou. 730.
*485While the trial court might have within the exercise of sound judicial discretion, followed the course pursued in the above cited case, there is no element of abuse of discretion in the failure to do so.
The judgment should be, and is, affirmed without prejudice, however, to the trial court requiring amendment of the alternative and peremptory writs so as to make the commands thereof applicable to available tax rolls, as the time has passed when the required levies could be made on the rolls of 1936..
So ordered.
Ellis, C. J., and Whitfield, Terrell, Brown and Davis, J. J.