Liner v. Workers Temporary Staffing, Inc.
| Decision Date | 31 July 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. SC07-1470.,SC07-1470. |
| Citation | 990 So.2d 473 |
| Parties | Larry LINER, etc., Appellant, v. WORKERS TEMPORARY STAFFING, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
This case is before the Court on appeal from a decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Liner v. Workers Temporary Staffing, Inc., 962 So.2d 344 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007), which declared a state statute invalid. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed in our analysis, we reverse the Fourth District with regard to the constitutional issue but hold that Workers Temporary Staffing, Inc. ("WTS") is not liable to Larry Liner concerning its alleged violation of section 448.24(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2004).1
From approximately December 2002 to March 2004, Liner worked as a day laborer for a labor hall that was operated by WTS in Broward County, Florida. See Liner, 962 So.2d at 346. WTS charged day laborers a fixed, uniform price of $1.50 each way for transportation from this Broward County labor hall to any of the worksites it serviced in the Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade County area ("tri-county area"). See id.
On May 3, 2004, Liner filed an original class-action complaint against WTS, alleging that it had violated section 448.24(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2004), by overcharging Liner and other day laborers for transportation to various worksites from its Broward County labor hall and other workers for transportation from various labor halls located throughout the state—i.e., the City of Tallahassee, Brevard County, Pasco County, Marion County, Manatee County, St. Johns County, and the City of Gainesville. Liner alleged that the class contained more than 500 day laborers and sought relief in the amount of $1000 per violation pursuant to section 448.25(1). On August 5, 2004, Liner filed a first amended class-action complaint in which he limited the claim to the labor halls that WTS operated in Broward, Brevard, Marion, and Volusia Counties.
On January 31, 2005, the trial court held a case-management conference with regard to whether class discovery should proceed before class certification. The trial court ruled that Liner was required to make a preliminary showing during an evidentiary hearing that a valid cause of action existed under the Act before the court would proceed to class-related matters. On February 2, 2005, WTS filed a counterclaim for declaratory relief. Specifically, WTS sought a judicial declaration that (1) it had complied with the Act;2 (2) section 448.24(1)(b) is unconstitutionally vague; and (3) the statutory-damages provision of section 448.25(1) is unconstitutionally excessive. WTS also asserted that its transportation service was more similar to a "demand-responsive carrier," which would deliver day laborers directly to a designated worksite, than a bus system that followed fixed routes.
On June 1, 2005, Liner filed a second amended class-action complaint. In this complaint, Liner limited the claim to those day laborers overcharged by WTS for transportation from the Broward County labor hall to Broward County worksites. Liner asserted that WTS overcharged in violation of section 448.24(1)(b) because the cost of one-way bus travel on the Broward County Transit system at that time was $1.00, while, in contrast, WTS charged $1.50 each way for its site-to-site transportation.
On November 14, 2005, the trial court— pursuant to the earlier case-management order—commenced an evidentiary hearing on Liner's individual claim and the declaratory-judgment counterclaim of WTS. See Liner, 962 So.2d at 346. The evidence revealed that (1) Liner was seeking $265.50 in actual damages and $177,000 in statutory damages; (2) on-time arrival at the worksites for job assignments was crucial; (3) for those job assignments that commenced prior to 5:30 a.m., there was no bus service to ensure on-time arrival; (4) Liner worked 234 job assignments for WTS in the tri-county area between December 2002 and March 2004; and (5) the average cost—measured by the least expensive form of public transportation3 that would ensure on-time arrival—for public transportation to a random sample of these job assignments was $32.00.4
After the evidence was presented, the parties stipulated that the trial court should consider the evidentiary hearing as a bench trial on the issue of WTS's liability to Liner under section 448.24(1)(b). Thus, the parties contemplated that any order of the trial court would constitute a judgment on liability only, not damages. The trial court subsequently ruled that (1) WTS had complied with the Act; (2) section 448.24(1)(b) is unconstitutionally vague; and (3) the statutory-damages provision of section 448.25(1) is unconstitutionally excessive.
On appeal, the Fourth District only affirmed the ruling of the trial court that section 448.24(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2004), violates the Due Process Clauses of both the United States and Florida Constitutions. See Liner, 962 So.2d at 346-48.5 The district court reasoned that section 448.24(1)(b) is unconstitutionally vague. See id. On August 3, 2007, Liner filed a notice of appeal with this Court.
Liner asserts that WTS violated section 448.24(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2004), by overcharging him for transportation from the labor hall in Broward County to various worksites within that county. The trial court ruled that WTS is not liable to Liner under section 448.24(1)(b). We agree. We review the statutory interpretation conducted by the trial court to reach this ultimate ruling de novo, while we defer to those factual findings of the trial court that are supported by competent, substantial evidence from the record. See N. Fla. Women's Health & Counseling Servs., Inc. v. State, 866 So.2d 612, 626-27 (Fla.2003).
At the outset, we emphasize that our statutory analysis applies exclusively to the version of the Florida Labor Pool Act that applied when WTS allegedly overcharged day laborers for transportation to and from its Broward County worksites between December 2002 and March 2004. At that time, section 448.24(1)(b) read:
(1) No labor pool shall charge a day laborer:
. . . .
(b) More than a reasonable amount to transport a worker to or from the designated worksite, but in no event shall the amount exceed the prevailing rate for public transportation in the geographic area ...
§ 448.24(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (2004). This version of section 448.24(1)(b) was in effect from 1995—when the Act was enacted— until 2006. See ch. 95-332, § 1, at 2932, Laws of Fla. In 2006, the Legislature amended section 448.24(1)(b) by making the following changes:
(1) No labor pool shall charge a day laborer:
. . . .
(b) More than a reasonable amount to transport a worker to or from the designated worksite, but in no event shall the amount exceed $1.50 each way the prevailing rate for public transportation in the geographic area. ...
Ch. 2006-10, § 1, at 198, Laws of Fla; § 448.24(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (2006).6
WTS asserts that the Labor Pool Act is penal in nature. In Florida, the general rule is that any ambiguity present in a civil statute of a penal nature is construed in favor of the party alleged to have violated the statute. See Diaz de la Portilla v. Fla. Elections Comm'n, 857 So.2d 913, 917 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). Conversely, a remedial statute should be liberally construed to suppress the evil targeted by the Legislature and to fulfill the intended remedy. See Golf Channel v. Jenkins, 752 So.2d 561, 565-66 (Fla.2000). In opposition to WTS, Liner asserts that the Legislature intended for the Act to be remedial in nature:
The Legislature finds that this part is necessary to provide for the health, safety, and well-being of day laborers throughout the state and to establish uniform standards of conduct and practice for labor pools in the state, and this part shall be carried out in accordance with this purpose.
§ 448.21, Fla. Stat. (2004) (entitled "Legislative intent"). While the Act is designed to remedy a specific evil, we nevertheless conclude that section 448.24(1)(b) is a civil statute that is penal in nature because of the potentially extreme punitive damages provided by section 448.25(1). Therefore, we must construe any ambiguity present in the Act in favor of WTS.
The statutory language present in section 448.21 is not dispositive. Instead, the determinative factor is the nature of the provision for damages imposed for violations of the Act:
(1) Any worker aggrieved by a violation of s. 448.24 shall have the right to bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the labor pool responsible for such violation. In any action commenced pursuant to this part, the worker shall be entitled to recover actual and consequential damages, or $1,000, whichever is greater, for each violation of this part, and costs.
§ 448.25(1), Fla. Stat. (2004) (entitled "Remedies; damages; costs") (emphasis supplied). Due to the nature of a claim filed pursuant to section 448.24(1)(b), the actual damages suffered by a complainant will usually be significantly less than the statutory damages ($1000 per violation) afforded by section 448.25(1). Here, Liner claimed that WTS violated section 448.24(1)(b) when it overcharged him 50 cents for each...
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