Rhea v. City of Gainesville, 90-1927
| Citation | 574 So.2d 221,16 Fla. L. Weekly 281 |
| Decision Date | 23 January 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-1927,90-1927 |
| Parties | 16 Fla. L. Weekly 281 Darnell RHEA, Appellant, v. CITY OF GAINESVILLE, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Darnell Rhea, pro se.
Celeste F. Adorno, Asst. City Atty., Gainesville, for appellee.
Appellant, Darnell Rhea, appeals the trial court's dismissal with prejudice of his amended complaint. We reverse.
The record indicates that, on February 20, 1990, the mayor of Gainesville called a special meeting of the Gainesville City Commission. The meeting was held that afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The minutes of the 3:00 p.m. meeting indicate that all members of the local news media were contacted regarding the special meeting no later than 1:35 p.m. that day. The purpose of the meeting was to respond to the upcoming appointment by the Alachua County legislative delegation of a committee to study the operation of Gainesville Regional Utilities. At the meeting, discussion was had and a motion was passed authorizing the mayor to write to the delegation conveying the Commission's position on the issue and offering the Commission's support.
On March 9, 1990, appellant (a resident of Alachua County) filed a complaint against the City purporting to allege that the February 20, 1990 meeting had been held without proper notice to the public, and was therefore in violation of the "Sunshine Law" (section 286.011, Florida Statutes). The City filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, and the motion was granted with leave to amend. On May 4, 1990, appellant filed an amended complaint requesting the court find that the meeting violated the notice requirement, that it void all formal action taken at the meeting, and that it award appellant costs pursuant to section 286.011(4). The City again moved to dismiss for failure to allege facts establishing a violation of section 286.011 and, on June 12, 1990, the court dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice, finding "the acts complained of by the plaintiff ... are not formal actions contemplated within the provisions of Florida Statute 286.011."
Section 286.011(1), Florida Statutes provides, in part, as follows:
(1) All meetings of any board or commission of any ... municipal corporation ... at which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such meeting.
(2) The minutes of a meeting of any such board or commission ... shall be promptly recorded, and such records shall be open to public inspection. The circuit courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to issue injunctions to enforce the purposes of this section upon application by any citizen of this state.
(emphasis supplied) Although the statute does not contain a specific notice requirement, it has been held that "reasonable notice" of a public meeting is mandatory in order for the meeting to be public in essence. Op. Atty. Gen., 080-78, September 22, 1980; Hough v....
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...v. Young , 462 So.2d 515 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), three days' notice of a special meeting was deemed adequate. In Rhea v. City of Gainesville , 574 So.2d 221, 221 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), an hour and a half notice of a special meeting to respond to the county's appointment of a commission to study ......
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