ROBERT S. MCKNIGHT, JR., A LICENSED REGISTERED, REAL ESTATE BROKER UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, CHAPTER 475, FLORIDA STATUTES, 1965, PETITIONER,
v.
FLORIDA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION AND GEORGE J. SAUNDERS, RESPONDENTS
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A real estate broker's license suspension for issuing worthless checks was upheld by the Florida Real Estate Commission, and the District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that the Commission has jurisdiction over misconduct demonstrating lack of good character even when unrelated to real estate transactions.
The Commission acted well within its jurisdiction in suspending the broker's license because a requirement to hold a real estate license includes maintaining good character and a good reputation for fair dealing, which can be violated by dishonest conduct regardless of whether it occurs during real estate transactions.
“It is well settled that in the absence of denial of allegations the same shall be deemed to be admitted and taken as true.”
Establishes the legal principle allowing the Commission to rely on admitted facts without affirmative proof
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRobert McKnight, a licensed real estate broker, issued two worthless checks totaling $40 on July 27, 1963, at Mashburn's Restaurant, knowing at the ti…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Worthless Checks cases and more on FLexlaw
By petition for a writ of certiorari we have for review an order of the Florida Real Estate Commission bearing date of April 20, 1967, and the order entered May 26, 1967, denying petitioner’s petition for rehearing.
Petitioner is a real estate broker charged with violating Florida Statutes, Chapter 475, F.S.A. Following a hearing the Real Estate Commission found petitioner guilty of obtaining funds by making, uttering and delivering worthless checks in the amount of $40.00. At the time of the making, uttering and delivering of the checks no such account was maintained in the bank upon which the checks were drawn. This fact was known to the petitioner at the time he wrote the checks, in violation of subsection 475.25(1) (e), Florida Statutes, F.S.A. ■
The Commission suspended petitioner’s license for a period of thirty days and petitioner asks this court by way of cer-tiorari to review the suspension and order. Petitioner alleges a lack of substantial competent evidence to support the order and charges that respondent Commission acted in excess of its jurisdiction by holding that defendant had committed a crime when said crime was unrelated to any real estate transaction.
In petitioner’s answer to the information there was no denial of the allegations regarding the charges which are here for review. Also, no attempt was made by petitioner’s attorney to amend the answer either *200before or during the hearing, and the Commission did not introduce into evidence the checks cashed on July 27, 1963. Furthermore, petitioner cashed the checks at Mr. Mashburn’s restaurant and Mr. Mash-burn was not called as a witness.
At the hearing petitioner testified that he frequently cashed checks at Mashburn’s Restaurant and was in Mashburn’s Restaurant on the particular date in question and remembered cashing checks. However, he did not testify in detail as to these two particular checks.
It is well settled that in the ab-sense of denial of allegations the same shall be deemed to be admitted and taken as true. Hime v. Florida Real Estate Commission, Fla.1952, 61 So.2d 182. Hunter v. Florida Board of Pharmacy, Fla.App. 1964, 162 So. 2d 524. Therefore, since petitioner did not deny the charge made by respondent Commission and no attempt was made to deny the allegations, they are admitted as true. Respondent Commission could properly rely upon this fact without offering affirmative proof at the hearing.
We do not believe the Commission exceeded its jurisdiction simply because these checks were not issued as a result of a real estate transaction. The law specifically requires that a person in order to hold a real estate license must make it appear that he is honest, truthful, trustworthy, of good character, and that he bears a good reputation for fair dealing. To issue worthless checks is the antithesis of good reputation and fair dealings and this misconduct need not be done during the negotiation and/or sale of real estate in order to be punishable. We think it would be ludicrous to construe the statutes to mean that a broker to be answerable to the Real Estate Commission must commit the unlawful acts when engaged in real estate negotiations but should he commit the same unlawful acts when not engaged in real estate negotiations he would still be of good character and beyond the Commission’s jurisdiction.
We believe the respondent Commission acted well within its jurisdiction and the points raised by petitioner are without merit.
The petition for writ of certiorari is therefore denied.
LILES, C. J., and ALLEN and PIERCE, JJ-, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Sellars v. Fla. Real Est. Comm'n, 380 So. 2d 1052 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)…A registered real estate broker may be disciplined for his dishonest conduct of business affairs for his own account, as well as for such conduct in transactions in which his only interest is as a broker. McKnight v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 202 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967), cert. den., 209 So. 2d 672 (Fla.1968). Because revocation was among the disciplinary remedies available to the Commission, by virtue of Sellars’ violation of section 475.25(3), we will not undertake to substitute our judgment, co…
-
Santaniello v. Dep't of Prof'l Regulation/Board of Real Est., 432 So. 2d 82 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)…of his clients. Sellars v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 380 So. 2d 1052 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). Likewise, a broker may be sanctioned for passing worthless checks not connected with his brokerage business. McKnight v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 202 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 2d DCA 1967). However, the mere filing of a lis pendens, as such, is neither illegal nor immoral. We can understand why a broker should not be permitted to file a lis pendens in connection with his brokerage practice, but we do not believe tha…
-
Williams v. Fla. Real Est. Comm'n & Ronald L. Myers, 232 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970)…Commission is not limited to a registrant’s misconduct in only real estate transactions. For instance, the Commission’s jurisdiction was upheld where the charge involved worthless checks. In McKnight v. Florida Real Estate Commission, Fla.App.1967, 202 So. 2d 199, the Court said, “We do not believe the Commission exceeded its jurisdiction simply because these checks were not issued as a result of a real estate transaction. The law specifically requires that a person in order to hold a real estate license mu…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Hime v. Fla. Real Est. Comm'n, 61 So. 2d 182 (Fla. 1952)
- Major Thornton v. State, 162 So. 2d 524 (Fla. 1st DCA 1964)