EDSEL HEINLEIN AND CLARA HEINLEIN, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
METROPOLITAN DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, A GOVERNMENTAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1968-12-10
No. 68-449
Before PEARSON, BARKDULL and SWANN, JJ.
216 So. 2d 473 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1968) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

Property owners challenged the constitutionality of a county housing ordinance on due process grounds, alleging unauthorized property inspections. The trial court granted summary judgment for the county, but the appellate court reversed, holding that genuine issues of material fact existed and the plaintiffs deserved an opportunity to amend their complaint.


Holding

The trial court erred in granting summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether the inspections violated due process rights, and the trial court deprived the plaintiffs of their opportunity to amend their complaint before dismissal.


Key Quotes

“We hold that the trial court erred in finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact and therefore erred in entering the summary judgment.”

States the core holding that summary judgment was improper when genuine factual disputes existed.

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Facts & Procedural History

The Heinleins owned rental property in Metropolitan Dade County and alleged that county inspectors repeatedly trespassed on their property without con…

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Opinion of the Court
PEARSON, Judge.

PEARSON, Judge.

The appellants, Edsel and Clara Heinlein, filed a complaint against the appellee, Metropolitan Dade County, seeking a declaratory judgment holding Dade County’s Minimum Housing Standards Ordinance unconstitutional. The County filed a motion to dismiss but did not file an answer. Subsequently it filed a motion for summary judgment which the court granted. In effect this was a declaratory judgment against the appellants upon some of their contentions. In addition the judgment contained a finding that other attacks on the ordinance presented no justi-ciable controversy. The court thereupon dismissed the appellants’ cause. This appeal is from the summary judgment. We hold that the trial court erred in finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact and therefore erred in entering the summary judgment.

Among other things, the complaint alleges that the County has under color of the authority of the ordinance repeatedly trespassed on the plaintiffs’ property against their consent and will continue to so tres*474pass without according the plaintiffs due process of law. The complaint is subject to the criticism of sometimes alleging legal conclusions rather than ultimate facts. Nevertheless it is sufficient to call for a declaration upon the controversy which exists between the parties. It is clear from the complaint and the summary judgment that the court found there was a controversy between the parties. The trial judge found it in accord with constitutional requirements of due process for inspectors of Metropolitan Dade County to repeatedly enter rental premises before they have reason to believe that the premises are below prescribed minimum standards. It appears that during the pendency of this cause the County amended the ordinance which authorizes such inspections and that there is a question as to the legality of the methods prescribed in the amendment. The trial judge considered the amendment in entering a summary judgment for the County. We hold that the trial court erred in entering the summary judgment upon the present state of the record. See Pancoast v. Pancoast, Fla.App.1957, 97 So.2d 875, 876. Cf. R-C-B-S Corporation v. City of Atlantic Beach, Fla.App.1965, 178 So.2d 906.

The trial court based its decision that the remainder of the complaint does not state a cause of action upon a finding that “the complaint is void of any factual allegation concerning any specific application of particular provisions of the Code to the plaintiffs.” The appellants urge that in entering summary judgment for the County the trial court deprived them of an opportunity to amend their complaint if it was defective. Without passing upon the validity of the foregoing conclusion of the trial court, we agree with the appellants that the entry of summary judgment for the County deprived them of an opportunity to amend the complaint so that it might state a cause''of action.

In Banyan Cafeterias, Inc., No. 3 v. Faith Lutheran Church, Fla.App.1962, 141 So.2d 5, we held that “Any person whose rights and status are affected by a municipal ordinance or who is in doubt as to his rights and status thereunder may obtain a declaration of his rights and status” pursuant to the declaratory judgment practice in this State.

We therefore reverse the summary judgment and remand the cause with directions that the trial court (1) afford the appellants an opportunity to amend their complaint, (2) rule on the County’s motion to dismiss, and (3) proceed thereafter in accordance with the rules.

Reversed and remanded with directions.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Williams v. BAY Hosp., Inc., 471 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
    …ree that the absence of a specific reference in the complaint to reliance on Section 46.021, Florida Statutes, is not fatal, since appellant is entitled to amend as necessary to clarify the basis for the action. Heinlein v. Metropolitan Dade County, 216 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Smith v. Reeder, 371 So. 2d 718 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Appellee, on the other hand, insists that appellant’s complaint is essentially an action for wrongful death, since the complaint seeks damages for the loss of a “chance to surv…
  • Harper v. Cont'l CAN Co., Inc., 411 So. 2d 1002 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
    …the pleading, as well as because the action alleged was time-barred. See Gordon v. City of Belle Glade, 132 So. 2d 449 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). Appellants made no motion for leave to amend the defective pleading. See Heinlein v. Metropolitan Dade County, 216 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968). The summary judgment is AFFIRMED. DAUKSCH, C.J., and FRANK D. UP-CHURCH, Jr., J., concur.…
  • Edsel Heinlein and Clara Heinlein v. Metro. Dade Cnty., 239 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)
    …ounty, Florida. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against the defendant which challenged Chapter 17, Code of Metropolitan Dade County, a/k/a Minimum Housing Standards Ordinance. See Heinlein v. Metropolitan Dade County, Fla.App.1968, [*636] 216 So. 2d 473. The county answered; final hearing was held and final judgment rendered for Metropolitan Dade County. On appeal appellants argue three points for reversal. Their first argument is that: “The provision of Chapter 17 of the Code of Metropolitan Dad…

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