Chatlos v. Overstreet
| Decision Date | 02 November 1960 |
| Citation | 124 So.2d 1 |
| Parties | William F. CHATLOS, trading and doing business as Golden Gate Hotel and Motel, Appellant, v. Earnest OVERSTREET, as Tax Collector for Dade County, Florida, et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Anderson & Nadeau, Miami, for appellant.
Darrey A. Davis and William W. Gibbs, Miami, for appellees.
This is an appeal from a decree construing, passing upon and sustaining the constitutionality of F.S. Section 192.21, F.S.A., and therefore reviewable in this court by direct appeal.
The statute in question is that portion of F.S. Sec. 192.21, F.S.A., which provides: '* * * and no assessment shall be held invalid unless suit be instituted within sixty days from the time the assessment shall become final * * *.'
The construction in question is the holding that the statute prohibits a taxpayer from instituting a suit until the tax roll becomes final, even though he has exhausted all of his administrative remedies prior to the date set at which the assessment becomes final.
The appellant, the plaintiff in the trial court, had objected to the assessment on his property and had made and presented his objections to the Board of Equalization of Dade County. The Board denied him relief on July 27, 1959. The appellant then, on September 10, 1959, filed his complaint against the tax collector to enjoin the collection of taxes, claiming that the assessments were illegal, discriminatory and excessive, and on October 5, 1959, the tax roll became final while the suit was pending. The trial commenced on January 12, 1960, and the final decree was filed April 7, 1960. The circuit court in its decree stated: 'This court is of the opinion that it has no constitutional power to hear and determine this cause for the reason that under the decision [rendered Feb. 11, 1960] in the aforesaid case [Dade County v. Dupont Plaza, District Court, Third District, Fla.1960, 117 So.2d 849], jurisdiction in this court is wanting unless a suit to enjoin the assessment is filed after the roll becomes final, which was October 5, 1959, and prior to the expiration of sixty days from that date.' And, further, 'The plaintiff has urged upon the court several contentions among them being * * * that the Legislature may not limit the jurisdiction of the court as is claimed was done here by F.S. 192.21 * * * that the construction placed upon F.S. 192.21 renders it unconstitutional.' The court then dismissed the suit, stating, 'The court has considered the contentions * * * and * * * it is of the opinion that the matter is foreclosed by the decision above referred to [Dade County v. Dupont Plaza, supra,] and that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain this suit.'
Appellant attacks the constitutional validity of the statute as construed by the court. The contention is that the construction violates Section 4, Declaration of Rights, Florida Constitution, F.S.A., which guarantees that the courts shall be open for the administration of justice without delay, that when he had exhausted his remedy by presenting his complaint to the Board of Equalization he then had a constitutional right after its denial of relief to seek judicial protection. Appellant contends that the legislature could not close the door of the courts to him and delay his relief until the tax collector had completed the ministerial functions pursuant to the order of the Board of Equalization. Appellants contend that the court had jurisdiction and should have ruled on the equities of his case as presented by the extensive testimony at the trial.
We are conscious of our duty to interpret a legislative act so as to effect a constitutional result if it is possible to do so. With this in mind we have examined the construction of F.S. Sec. 1921.21, F.S.A., in Rudisill v. City of Tampa, 151 Fla. 284, 9 So.2d 380; Thompson v. City of Key West, Fla., 82 So.2d 749; Nash v. Merritt Island Lumber Co., Fla.App., 110 So.2d 677, which...
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State v. Rosario
...on three Florida Supreme Court opinions, none of which we find controlling in this case.First, the dissent cites to Chatlos v. Overstreet, 124 So. 2d 1, 2 (Fla. 1960), a sixty-year old opinion determining when a taxpayer may institute a suit to declare a tax assessment invalid. Chatlos deal......
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Southwest Aircraft Services, Inc., In re
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...end. Jeffries v. State, 610 So.2d 440, 441 (Fla. 1992). However, the Court had earlier construed the word "within" in Chatlos v. Overstreet, 124 So.2d 1 (Fla.1960), differently. There, in construing a statute, the Court said that the word "within" was susceptible of differing meanings — inc......
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Miller v. Nolte
...statute of non-claim rather than a statute of limitations. Rudisill v. City of Tampa, 151 Fla. 284, 9 So.2d 380 (1942); Chatlos v. Overstreet, 124 So.2d 1 (Fla.1960). The Third District Court of Appeal has consistently followed our interpretation. Henry v. County of Dade, 149 So.2d 89 (Fla.......