Snyder v. Fla. Prepaid Coll. Bd.

• Decision Date: 13 March 2019
• Docket Number: No. 1D17-4768,1D17-4768
• Citation: Snyder v. Fla. Prepaid Coll. Bd., 269 So.3d 586 (Fla. App. 2019)
• Parties: Susan SNYDER, Appellant, v. FLORIDA PREPAID COLLEGE BOARD, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

269 So.3d 586

Susan SNYDER, Appellant,

v.FLORIDA PREPAID COLLEGE BOARD, Appellee.

No. 1D17-4768

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

March 13, 2019

Rehearing Denied May 6, 2019

David J. Sales of David J. Sales, P.A., Sarasota; Daniel R. Hoffman of David J. Sales, P.A., Sarasota; James W. Gustafson of Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley, P.A., Tallahassee; Edward H. Zebersky and Jordan Shawn of Zebersky & Payne, LLP, Fort Lauderdale, for Appellant.

Michael E. Riley, Jason L. Unger, Ashley Hoffman Lukis, and Andy V. Bardos of GrayRobinson, P.A., Tallahassee; Jason A. Zimmerman of GrayRobinson, P.A., Orlando, for Appellee.

M.K. Thomas, J.

Susan Snyder appeals an order granting final summary judgment in favor of the Florida Prepaid College Board(the "Board").She argues summary judgment is improper because the terms of the contract obligated the Board to pay the value of the Tuition Differential Fee ("TDF"), a fee implemented by the Legislature after she purchased a Florida Prepaid Tuition Plan.Alternatively, she argues the prepaid plan contract is ambiguous and, therefore, precludes summary judgment.We disagree and affirm.

I.Facts

The Legislature created the Florida Prepaid College Program ("Florida Prepaid") as a means for participants to lock-in and prepay certain costs of a future postsecondary education.§ 1009.98(1), Fla. Stat.(2018)(describing the current Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program).Florida Prepaid is administered by the Board, which has statutorily defined rights and duties.§ 1009.971, Fla. Stat.(2018).The Legislature has authorized the Board to offer various prepaid plan options, or advance payment contracts, each of which includes statutorily defined benefits.§ 1009.98(2), Fla. Stat.(2018).

A. Snyder's Tuition Plan

In 2004, Snyder purchased a prepaid plan from the Board and designated her son as the beneficiary.During the 2003-2004 Open Enrollment Period, the Board offered three different plan options.Snyder selected and purchased the 4-Year University Tuition Plan.¹In the Tuition Plan, the Board was authorized to provide "prepaid registration fees for a specified number of undergraduate semester credit hours ..."See§ 1009.98(2)(b) 1., Fla. Stat.(2003).As part of the contract, Snyder accepted the Board's Master Covenant, which set forth the policies and terms of Florida Prepaid.The governing document at the time of Snyder's purchase was entitled 2003-2004 Master Covenant ("03/04 MC").Under the provisions of the 03/04 MC, Snyder would prepay "120 semester credit hours of tuition at a state university," and the Board would later pay her son's chosen institution 120 credit hours of "registration fees."The 03/04 MC defined "registration fee" to mean "the fee charged for tuition and includes the matriculation fee, financial aid fee, building fee, and Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee."This definition was similar to that found in chapter 1009 at the time.See§ 1009.97(3)(g), Fla. Stat.(2003)(defining "registration fee" to mean "tuition fee, financial aid fee, building fee, and Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee").²

Snyder's prepaid plan contract equally applied whether her son went to an in-state or an out-of-state institution, with some exceptions not relevant here.The 03/04 MC provided, "The Board will transfer an amount not to exceed the current rates at state universities and community colleges in Florida" and at "an amount not to exceed the redemption value of the advance payment contract at a state postsecondary institution."See§ 1009.98(3), Fla. Stat.The 03/04 MC also expressly detailed that the beneficiary was responsible for any additional fees charged by state universities and community colleges, "including but not limited to application fees, laboratory fees, meal plan fees, and security deposits."The redemption value of the advance payment contract for 4-Year University Tuition Plans, if the beneficiary attended school out-of-state, "shall be the average amount of tuition ... charged by the state universities ... at the time of matriculation."Fla. Admin. Code R. 19B-9.003(2001).

B.The Tuition Differential Fee

In 2007, the Legislature authorized state universities to impose a new fee – the TDF.SeeCh. 2007-225 § 1, Laws of Fla.The Legislature did not include the TDF in the definition of tuition or registration fee, but created it as a separate, statutorily defined fee.See§§ 1009.01(3),1009.24(16), Fla. Stat. (2007)."Tuition differential" is defined as "the supplemental fee charged to a student for instruction provided by a public university in this state pursuant to s. 1009.24(15)."§ 1009.01(3), Fla. Stat.(2007).³However, the Legislature excluded pre-existing Florida Prepaid participants like Snyder from paying the TDF: "Beneficiaries having prepaid tuition contracts pursuant to s. 1009.98(2)(b) which were in effect on July 1, 2007, and which remain in effect, are exempt from the payment of the tuition differential."Ch. 2007-225, § 2, Laws of Fla.(amending§ 1009.24, Fla. Stat.);§ 1009.24(16)(b) 5., Fla. Stat.(2018).

In 2009, the TDF provision was further amended to allocate seventy percent of its revenue to "undergraduate education" and thirty percent to student financial aid.SeeCh. 2009-98, § 3, Laws of Fla.(amending§ 1009.24, Fla. Stat.).Also, the Board authorized the purchase of a separate plan to cover the TDF which may be purchased in conjunction with a Tuition Plan.See§ 1009.98(2)(b) 4., Fla. Stat.(2018).

C.Enrollment in an Out-of-State Institution

Snyder's son elected to attend a non-Florida state institution – the Citadel in South Carolina.As per the terms of Snyder's prepaid plan contract, the Board paid the Citadel for 120 hours of "registration fees" as that term was defined in the contract at a rate of $ 116.00 per credit hour.Snyder, however, argued the Board underpaid, as she interpreted the Board's obligation in the 03/04 MC to require transfer of an amount per credit hour determined at "the current rate" of in-state schools which she asserts should include the value of the TDF.Snyder concedes the Board was paying her son's tuition at the statutorily defined rate.The Board paid to the Citadel the exact amount it would have paid to any Florida university if Snyder's son was attending class in-state.The difference between the amount the Board actually paid and the amount Snyder claimed the Board owed (the amount of the TDF), is approximately $ 10,000 over the course of four years.⁴

In 2015, Snyder sued the Board for declaratory and monetary relief, arguing the Board was not paying as contemplated under the 03/04 MC.She asserted claims for breach of contract, declaratory relief, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.Notably, Snyder never sought as part of her relief a rescission of the contract, nor did she seek a refund under the terms of the contract.Instead, she sought only payment of an additional benefit to her Tuition Plan – the value of the TDF.She argued, under the 03/04 MC and Florida Prepaid promotional materials, she understood the Board would pay out-of-state tuition based on the "current rates" at Florida universities and colleges, and because "current rates" necessarily must now include the TDF, she was also entitled to payment of the TDF value.

The trial court ultimately rejected Snyder's claims and entered an order granting final summary judgment in the Board's favor.This is Snyder's appeal.

II.Analysis

We review an order granting final summary judgment de novo .Volusia Cty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P. , 760 So.2d 126, 130(Fla.2000)."Summary judgment is proper if there is no genuine issue of material fact and if the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."Id.The issue in this case turns on the trial court's interpretation of Snyder's prepaid plan contract as well as the statutes and regulations governing Florida Prepaid, which we also review de novo .Tierra Holdings, Ltd. v. Mercantile Bank , 78 So.3d 558, 562(Fla. 1st DCA2011);Imagine Ins. Co. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Fin. Servs. , 999 So.2d 693, 696(Fla. 1st DCA2008).

In granting final summary judgment for the Board, the trial court concluded the amended master contract in effect at the time of final summary judgment proceedings, the 2016-2017 Master Contract ("16/17 MC"), governed the parties' relationship and, by its unambiguous language, precluded Snyder's entitlement to the value of the TDF.In the alternative, it concluded under either the 03/04 MC or the 16/17 MC, Snyder's Tuition Plan did not include the value of the TDF.We agree with the trial court's analysis.

A.The 16/17 Master Contract Governs the Parties' Relationship

Snyder argues the trial court erred in holding the 16/17 MC governed the parties' relationship.She asserts this holding erroneously condones the Board's unrestricted right to serially and materially amend the parties' agreement, resulting in an impairment of her rights.We disagree.

The Board manages Florida Prepaid on behalf of all participants, not just Snyder.See§ 1009.971, Fla. Stat.(2018).The Board's role is to administer Florida Prepaid as the program is created and amended by the Legislature.SeeState, Bd. of Trs. of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund v. Day Cruise Ass'n, Inc. , 794 So.2d 696, 700-01(Fla. 1st DCA2001)(recognizing most administrative agencies are creatures of statute and have only those powers the statutes confer).The Board implements the Legislature's vision for Florida Prepaid through the administrative rulemaking process.See§§ 120.52(8),120.536,1009.971(4)(aa) Fla. Stat.(2018).The preamble to the 03/04 MC makes clear the larger scope of the Board's responsibility:

The applicable provisions of part IV, Chapter 1009, Florida Statutes, rules contained in Chapters 19B-4 through 19B-13 and Rule Chapter 19B-15, Florida Administrative Code, ands. 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended from time to

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