DADE COUNTY, A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
CHARLES B. BENENSON ET AL., APPELLEES
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.
Property owners are entitled to a declaration of their rights when they allege a present controversy and doubt regarding their rights stemming from actions already taken by the county, even if those actions contemplate future developments.
[1] A complaint seeking declaratory relief may proceed when it alleges a present controversy and a justifiable doubt as to the legal effect of actions already taken by a gove…
[2] A motion to dismiss a complaint for declaratory judgment should be denied if the complaint, taking factual allegations as true, sets forth a prima facie case of actual do…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePlaintiffs, owners of land near an airport, alleged they had invested in development plans based on current zoning. A county report and resolution app…
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 Construction Of Statutes cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The defendant, Dade County, appeals the denial of its motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint for a declaratory judgment. The point presented is as follows: “Whether property owners are entitled to a declaration of their rights based upon alleged anticipated legislative actions which may or may not take place.” We hold that the point presented does not apply to the complaint filed, and we affirm.
The inquiry must be whether or not the complaint presented a prima facie case of an actual doubt as to the effect of, and plaintiffs’ rights under, actions already taken by the County. Cf. May v. Holley, Fla.1952, 59 So. 2d 636; McLaughlin v. Metropolitan Dade County, Fla.App.1966, 191 So. 2d 615.
The complaint alleges that the appellees are the owners and record titleholders of a, tract of land located immediately west of the Miami International Airport. In reliance upon the present Dade County zoning laws and pursuant to the approved master plan of development, the appellees have expended substantial sums of money and financial obligations in order to develop the above-mentioned tract of land as a modern industrial park and office building complex. The Aviation Department of Dade County (that operates the county-owned airport) has made a report entitled “Miami International Airport Compatibility Study.” The report calls for an expansion and modification of the airport facilities. In furtherance of this plan, an airport runway would be extended an additional 4,000 feet to the west, i. e., in the direction of the appellees’ property. This proposed reduced distance between the appellees’ property and the contemplated extension to the runway would substantially reduce the allowable height of all structures permitted on the property under the present zoning laws. The Dade* Board of County Commissioners has adopted a “resolution” approving the compatibility study, which authorizes implementation of the provisions of the report. Based on the above, appel-lees are seeking a declaration of their property rights as affected by the resolution of the Board of County Commissioners.
Fla.Stat. § 86.011, on “Jurisdiction of circuit court,” provides: “The circuit courts have jurisdiction to declare rights, status and other equitable or legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.” Fla.Stat. § 86.021, on “Power to construe, etc.,” provides: “Any person claiming to be interested or who may be in doubt about his rights under a deed, will, . . . [etc.] ... or whose rights, status or other equitable or legal relations are affected by a statute, or any regulation made under statutory authority, . or by municipal ordinance, contract, deed, . . . [etc.] . . . may have determined any question of construction or validity .arising [thereunder] Fla.Stat. § 86.051, on “Enumeration not exclusive,” states: “The enumeration in sections 86.021, 86.031 and 86.041, Florida Statutes, does not limit or restrict the exercise of the general powers conferred in section 86.011, Florida Statutes, in any action where declaratory relief is sought.” Fla.Stat. § 86.101, on “Construction of law,” states: “This chapter is declared to be substantive and remedial. Its purpose is to settle and to ¿fiord relief from insecurity and uncertainty with respect to rights, status and other equitable or legal relations and is to be liberally administered and construed.”
The County urges that the allegations of the complaint relates exclusively to matters which had not yet taken place and which were not presently ascertained or ascertainable in that they are allegations of threatened future actions by the Board of County Commissioners which might or might not occur, or which might occur in a manner quite different from that anticipated by plaintiffs. See Charlotte County v. Venture Out in America, Inc., Fla.App. 1971, 243 So. 2d 249.
We read the complaint as setting forth a present controversy. See Perry v. Genung, Fla.App.1964, 163 So. 2d 54. The plaintiffs have a right to have determined the present status of their property as regards the legal effect of the actions already taken by the County. Cf. Hernandez v. Board of Commissioners of Hillsborough County, Fla. 1934, 153 So. 790. The factual allegations of the complaint must be taken as true upon the motion to dismiss. See United Homes, Inc. v. Moss, Fla.App.1963, 154 So. 2d 351. The complaint alleges present plans for development of the affected lands. It also alleges a justifiable doubt as to plaintiffs’ legal rights under actions already taken by the County. See Sheldon v. Powell, Fla.1930, 128 So. 258.
The trial court did not err in refusing to dismiss the complaint.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
S. Riverwalk Invs., LLC v. City OF Fort Lauderdale, 934 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…miss. A party is entitled to a declaration of rights where the ripening seeds of controversy make litigation in the immediate future appear unavoidable. See Platt v. Gen. Dev. Corp., 122 So. 2d 48, 50 (Fla. 2d DCA 1960). In Dade County v. Benenson, 326 So. 2d 74, 75 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), property owners expended substantial sums of money to develop a tract of land as a modern industrial park and office building complex, relying on the present Dade County zoning laws. The Aviation Department of Dade County pro…
-
Donaldson v. The City OF Titusville, 345 So. 2d 800 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)…as a means to seek clarification or adjudication of rights of property owners under municipal ordinances and to obtain relief from the action of zoning authorities. Safer v. Jacksonville, Fla.App., 212 So. 2d 785; Dade County v. Benenson, Fla.App., 326 So. 2d 74; City Of Naples v. Central Plaza Of Naples, Inc., Fla.App.1974, 303 So. 2d 423; Rural New Town, Inc. v. Palm Beach County, Fla.App., 315 So. 2d 478; Hall v. Korth, Fla.App.1971, 244 So. 2d 766. These authorities make no distinction between legislati…
-
Yacht Club by Luxcom, LLC v. Vill. of Palmetto BAY (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)…ent action was ripe for consideration when there was a present, practical need to determine the status of the developer’s site plan application in light of the municipality’s intention to de-activate the application); see also Dade Cty. v. Benenson, 326 So. 2d 74, 76 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976) (holding that, after the County preliminarily authorized an airport runway expansion that would affect the property owners’ development, the property owners, through a declaratory judgment action, had “a right to have determin…
Authorities Cited
- Sheldon v. Cora P. Powell, 99 Fla. 782 (Fla. 1930)
- Hernandez v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Hillsborough Cnty., 114 Fla. 219 (Fla. 1934)
- United Homes, Inc. v. Moss, 154 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 2d DCA 1963)
- Perry v. The Honorable Don Genung, 163 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)
- Leon v. Nuta, 191 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)
- McLAUGHLIN v. Metro. Dade Cnty., 191 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)
- Charlotte Cnty. v. Venture OUT IN Am., Inc., 243 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971)