JOS. R. STEIN, FRED M. CONE, S. J. HILBURN, ET AL., AS MEMBERS OF AND CONSTITUTING THE FLORIDA STATE RACING COMMISSION, AND THE FLORIDA STATE RACING COMMISSION, PETITIONERS,
v.
BISCAYNE KENNEL CLUB., INC.; OLLIS OSTENDORF AND GEORGE C. STEMBLER, AS A CITIZEN AND RESIDENT TAXPAYER OF DADE COUNTY, FOR AND IN BEHALF OF HIMSELF AND ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED, RESPONDENTS

Fla. | 1940-12-16
Whitfield, Chapman, Thomas and Adams, J. J., concur., Terrell, C. J., and Brown, J., dissent.
145 Fla. 306 Florida Supreme Court (1940) Positive Treatment
Also reported at: 199 So. 364
Cited by 15 cases

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.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court reviewed a decision granting the Biscayne Kennel Club racing dates for the 1940-1941 season. The court held that the Racing Commission's award violated statutory limitations on racing days within a twelve-month period, rendering the award void.


Holding

The Racing Commission's award of racing dates was ultra vires and void. If a club began racing on December 25, 1939, and operated for 90 days, that twelve-month period extended through December 24, 1940, exhausting all allowable racing days within that period and precluding additional dates in 1940-1941.


Key Quotes

“Section 8. No license or licenses shall be granted to any person, association or corporation or to any race track for a meet or meeting in any county to extend longer than fifty racing days for horse racing and ninety racing days for dog racing in any twelve month period.”

The statutory provision establishing the maximum limit of 90 racing days for dog racing within any twelve-month period, which forms the basis for the court's holding.

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Facts & Procedural History

Biscayne Kennel Club operated a dog racing track in Dade County during the 1939-1940 season for ninety days beginning December 25-27, 1939. The Racing…

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Opinion of the Court
Buford, J.

Buford, J.

On petition for certiorari under Rule 34 to review an order restraining the enforcement of an order of the State Racing Commission of November 16, 1940, and requiring the State Racing Commission to give force and effect to its order of November 2, 1940, wherein Biseayne Kennel Club was awarded dates for conducting race meetings in the season of 1940-1941 for “90 days beginning Dec. 2nd through Dec. 21st, Dec. 25th through March 18th” it is only necessary for us now to determine the validity of the award of those dates.

*308The record shows that for the season 1939-1940 Biscayne Kennel Club under permit duly issued operated its dog racing track in Dade County for a period of ninety days beginning either on December 25, 26 or 27 (which date is not clear). So it is that the track was operated for a period of ninety days within one twelve month period either from the 25th, 26th or 27th of December, 1939.

Section 8 of Chapter 14832, Acts of 1931, provides:

“Section 8. No license or licenses shall be granted to any person, association or corporation or to any race track for a meet or meeting in any county to extend longer than fifty racing days for horse racing and ninety racing days for dog racing in any twelve month period.”

It necessarily follows that if Biscayne Kennel Club began its racing on December 25, 1939, and continued for a period of ninety days December 25 was the beginning of a twelve month period and December 24, 1940, will be the end of that twelve month period. So under these conditions Biscayne Kennel Club had consumed all its legally allowable racing dates within that twelve month period.

That this was and is the legislative intent is shown by Section 4 of Chapter 17276, Acts of 1935, which in this connection provides:

Any person, association or corporation desiring to operate a race track in this State shall have the right, subject to the provisions of this Act, to hold and conduct one or more race meetings at such tracks each year. Hereafter horse race track meetings shall be held only during the period extending from and including the 10th day of December to and including the 10th day of April the following year, and hereafter dog race track meetings shall be held only during the period extending from and including the 1st day of December in each year to and including the 10th day of April the following year; Provided, that'both horse *309race and dog race meetings shall be limited as to number of racing days as provided in Section 8 of Chapter 14832, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1931, and provided further no race or racing shall be permitted on Sunday.”

It must be assumed that the Legislature had some purpose in using particular language in a legislative Act. If the Legislature did not intend the language to be construed as we construe it, then that language was mere surplusage and the legislative Act with the language, viz.: “in any twelve month period” meant nothing more than it would mean without those words included. So we must construe the language to have been inserted for a purpose and not merely to cause confusion.

Whether a dog race track is allowed 90 days or less for racing in any one racing season is a matter in the discretion of the commission and the statute not only limits the allowable days in a racing season, but also, whether wisely or unwisely, has limited the available days which may be allowed in any twelve month period. We have been unable to find a judicial construction of this identical language, but the phrase, “in any 24-hour period” has been construed and the construction has been uniformly in harmony with the construction here applied.

Section 62, Vol. 45 USCA provides that “No operator . . . shall . . . remain on duty for a longer period than nine hours in any 24-hour period. . . .”

“The 24-hour period must be counted from the time the operator goes on duty.” U. S. v. Missouri Pac. R. Co., 235 Fed. 944.

“The words ‘in any 24-hour period’ mean any 24 consecutive hours during which an employee is on duty more than the prescribed time.” U. S. v. Atlantic Terminal Co., 30 Fed. (2d) 109.

“Provision that no dispatcher shall be required or per*310mitted to be or remain on duty for more than 9 hours in ‘any 24-hour period’ means 24 consecutive hours following any point of time.” U. S. v. Northern Pac. Ry. Co., 6 Fed. Supp. 278, aff. 77 Fed. (2d) 587.

For the reasons stated the purported action of the Racing Commission on November 2, 1940, was ultra vires and void.

The writ of certiorari having been granted, the challenged order of the circuit court is quashed with directions that an order be entered in the court below dismissing the cause.

So ordered.

Whitfield, Chapman, Thomas and Adams, J. J., concur.

Terrell, C. J., and Brown, J., dissent.

Brown, J.

(dissenting). — Construing Section 8 of Chapter 14832, Acts of 1931, in connection with Section 4 of the same Act, and also said Section 4 of the same Act as later amended by Section 4 of Chapter 17276 of the Acts of 1935, which is quoted in full in Mr. Justice Buford’s opinion, I think the “twelve months period” referred to in Section 8 of Chapter 14832, should be construed to begin with the first day of the “racing season” as fixed by said Section 4 which, for dog tracks, begins on December 1 in each year and ends on April 10 of the following year, but the number of racing days during such period must be limited in the license issued by the Commission to fifty days for horse racing and ninety days for dog racing “in any twelve months period,” which, as I construe it, means within the twelve months period beginning with the permissive racing seasons as provided for in said Section 4.

Dissent
Brown, J.

Brown, J.

(dissenting). — Construing Section 8 of Chapter 14832, Acts of 1931, in connection with Section 4 of the same Act, and also said Section 4 of the same Act as later amended by Section 4 of Chapter 17276 of the Acts of 1935, which is quoted in full in Mr. Justice Buford’s opinion, I think the “twelve months period” referred to in Section 8 of Chapter 14832, should be construed to begin with the first day of the “racing season” as fixed by said Section 4 which, for dog tracks, begins on December 1 in each year and ends on April 10 of the following year, but the number of racing days during such period must be limited in the license issued by the Commission to fifty days for horse racing and ninety days for dog racing “in any twelve months period,” which, as I construe it, means within the twelve months period beginning with the permissive racing seasons as provided for in said Section 4.


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Citator

Cited By

  • State ex rel. W. v. Gray, 74 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 1954)
    …g of this Court has been that all provisions of an Act by the Legislature are presumed to have some useful purpose. There is no presumption that the Legislature inserts á clause or paragraph in an Act which is useless. Stein v. Biscayne Kennel Club, 145 Fla. 306, 199 So. 364; Amos v. Mathews, 99 Fla. 1, 126 So. 308; Girard Trust Co. v. Tampashores Development Co., 95 Fla. 1010, 117 So. 786; Alexander v. Booth, Fla., 56 So. 2d 716; 50 Am.Jur. 361, Statutes, Secs. 358, 359. The opinions in the Williams and Kn…
  • …The beneficient provisions of the Act should be liberally interpreted and construed so as to alleviate the contaminating influences to the body politic that may accrue because of unemployment of wage earners. See Stein v. Biscayne Kennel Club, Inc., 145 Fla. 306, 199 So. 364; Amos v. Conkling, 99 Fla. 206, 126 So. 283. The power of taxation flows from the sovereign power of a state. Taxing statutes as a rule are strictly construed. Liability to taxation must be authorized by clear words and expressed inten…
  • …he winter season from December 1 of one year to and including April 10 of the following year based on the McKay case holding: “* * * If the twelve month period is computed from the first available operation day, Stein v. Biscayne Kennel Club, Inc., 145 Fla. 306 199 So. 364, and the summer racing and winter racing seasons specifically authorized in Section 550.04 are applied to fronton operation, the proviso may be construed [*6] a ninety-day season in the winter period and such season in the summer as a gu…

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