Chandler v. City of Greenacres

Decision Date11 June 2014
Docket NumberNo. 4D13–377.,4D13–377.
Citation140 So.3d 1080
PartiesJoel Edward CHANDLER, Appellant, v. The CITY OF GREENACRES, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

140 So.3d 1080

Joel Edward CHANDLER, Appellant,
v.
The CITY OF GREENACRES, Appellee.

No. 4D13–377.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,
Fourth District.

June 11, 2014.


[140 So.3d 1082]


Edward M. Mullins, Annette C. Escobar & Regan N. Kruse of Astigarraga Davis Mullins & Grossman, P.A., Miami, and John W. McKnight of The Law Offices of John W. McKnight, Tampa, for appellant.

Pamela S. Terranova, Greenacres, for appellee.


WARNER, J.

The trial court dismissed appellant's petition for writ of mandamus to compel production of public records, finding that the petition failed to show appellant's standing to bring the action. Accepting the well-pled allegations as true, as we must, the petition showed that appellant had sent appellee an e-mail request for documents. No more is required to show standing. We therefore reverse.

As alleged in the petition for writ of mandamus, “On November 22, 2011, [appellant] made a public records request by e-mail to the City ....” The petition quoted from this e-mail, which was attached to the petition and on its face showed that it was sent from leo. namesxxx@ xxxxx. 1 Although the attached e-mail did not include a person's name, the body of the e-mail used the pronouns “I” and “me.” The petition also alleged that appellant had sent three other e-mails to city employees requesting documents. These e-mails, also attached as exhibits to the petition, showed they were sent from the same e-mail address.

The city clerk responded to the e-mails by notifying the sender that the sender must fill out a form on the city's web page for obtaining public documents. No form was filled out, and five months later, a sender from the same e-mail address again e-mailed the city and asked when the sender would receive the documents. Again, the clerk informed the sender that the city's form needed to be filled out in order for the city to determine the cost of production of the documents.

A month later, appellant filed a petition for writ of mandamus demanding production of certain public records, and also seeking attorney's fees and costs under the Public Records Act. The petition alleged that appellant had sent the e-mails and that he was a “person” as used in the Act, section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes (2012). The trial court issued an order to show cause directing the city to provide access to the requested public records or serve a written response showing why the petition should not be granted. The city moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that appellant lacked standing to bring the petition because it did not allege that appellant was a “stakeholder in interest” in the controversy nor demonstrate that appellant had a connection with the e-mail address from which the requests were sent. It also argued that appellant needed to fill out the city's form in order to secure an estimate of the cost of production. However, after appellant filed the petition, the city provided him an estimate of $0.90 to obtain the public records requested in the e-mail.

[140 So.3d 1083]

The trial court granted the city's motion and dismissed the petition, prompting this appeal.

This court reviews an order dismissing a petition for writ of mandamus de novo. Barnett v. Antonacci, 122 So.3d 400, 404 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Florida's Public Records Act requires public records custodians to allow inspection and copying of public records “by any person desiring to do so.” § 119.07(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2013); see alsoArt. I, § 24, Fla. Const. (providing right to access public records and meetings). Mandamus is “an appropriate remedy to compel the timely production of public records request[ed] under Chapter 119.” Town of Manalapan v. Rechler, 674 So.2d 789, 790 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).

“A party petitioning for a writ of mandamus must establish a clear legal right to performance of the act requested, an indisputable legal duty, and no adequate remedy at law.” Smith v. State, 696 So.2d 814, 815 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.630(b), a petition for writ of mandamus must “contain the facts on which the plaintiff relies for relief, a request for the relief sought, and, if desired, argument in support of the petition with citations of authority.” Id. at 816. “If the complaint shows a prima facie case for relief, a trial court must issue an alternative writ of mandamus,” and “[o]nce an alternative writ has issued, the burden is on the respondent to come forth with facts upon which it refused to perform its legal duty.” Id.

To establish a clear legal right to the performance of an act, a petitioner must establish standing. “Standing is a legal concept that requires a would-be litigant to demonstrate that he or she reasonably expects to be affected by the outcome of the proceedings, either directly or indirectly.” Hayes v. Guardianship of Thompson, 952 So.2d 498,...

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    ...v. State, 277 So. 3d 223, 225 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019) (citing Asay v. State, 210 So. 3d 1, 22 (Fla. 2016) ); Chandler v. City of Greenacres, 140 So. 3d 1080, 1083 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (citing Barnett v. Antonacci, 122 So. 3d 400, 404 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) ). If the circuit court determined the peti......
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    ...within the four corners of the complaint and must be considered therewith’ on a motion to dismiss." Chandler v. City Of Greenacres , 140 So.3d 1080, 1083 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (quoting Abele v. Sawyer , 750 So.2d 70, 74 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) ); see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.130(b) ("Any exhibit at......
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