State v. City of Miami

• Decision Date: 28 March 1942
• Citation: 150 Fla. 270,7 So.2d 146
• Parties: STATE (ARTHUR, Intervenor) v. CITY OF MIAMI.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

7 So.2d 146

150 Fla. 270

STATE (ARTHUR, Intervenor) v. CITY OF MIAMI.

Florida Supreme Court

March 28, 1942

Appeal from Circuit Court, Dade County; Ross Williams Judge.

George A Worley, Jr., and George C. Simpson, both of Miami, for appellants.

J. W Watson, Jr., of Miami, and Masslich & Mitchell, of New York City for appellee.

BUFORD, Justice.

On appeal we review an order of the Circuit Court validating the City of Miami Hospital Revenue Bonds in the sum of $1,157,000.

The pertinent facts found from the evidence and the applicable legal principles are concisely stated in the decree from which the appeal is taken, as follows:

'This cause coming on to be heard on the 24th day of February, 1942, at the hour of 10:00 o'clock A. M. of said day, at the Circuit Court Room in the Court House in the City of Miami, in the County of Dade in said Circuit upon the petition of said City of Miami (hereinafter sometimes called the 'City'), for the validation of $1,157,000.00 Hospital Revenue Bonds of said City of Miami, pursuant to an order heretofore issued by this Court against the State of Florida, requiring it, through its State Attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, to show cause at said time and place why the said Hospital Revenue Bonds should not be validated and confirmed as was prayed in such Petition and it appearing that copies of said Order and Petition were served upon said State Attorney, as is required by law, and State notice of said hearing directed to the taxpayers and citizens of said City of Miami was published as is required by law, and it further appearing that said State Attorney has filed an Answer as required by law, and that a taxpayer, one P. H. Arthur, has intervened and has filed an Answer to said Petition, and evidence having been introduced and the cause submitted for consideration and decision, the Court having heard and determined all of the questions of laws of fact in the cause, finds the facts as follows:

'(1). All of the material allegations in said Petition for Validation are true, and the issuance of said $1,157,000. Hospital Revenue Bonds has been duly authorized by Resolution No. 17659 passed and adopted by the City Commission of the City of Miami on January 30, 1942.

'(2) The City owns and operates a municipal hospital in the City of Miami (now known as the Jackson Memorial Hospital and hereinafter sometimes called the 'municipal hospital'), which hospital was constructed in the year 1916 and has at all times since its construction provided accommodations, services and facilities for the treatment not only of patients able to pay for all or a part of the services rendered and treatment received (hereinafter sometimes called 'Pay patients') but also of patients unable to pay for any of such services and treatments (hereinafter sometimes called 'charity patients'), and in order to meet increasing demands for hospital services and facilities since 1916 the City has from time to time improved and extended the municipal hospital.

'(3) For the purpose of paying the cost of constructing the municipal hospital and of improving and extending the same from time to time, the City issued prior to April 1, 1935, its general obligation bonds, payable from unlimited ad valorem taxes in the aggregate amount of $694,000, and the City has heretofore expended for such purpose from the general funds of the City amounts aggregating $236,000, and, for the purpose of further extending the municipal hospital, the City issued, under date of April 1, 1935, its hospital revenue certificates, payable solely from the net revenue of the municipal hospital, in the aggregate principal amount of $236,000 and secured a grant from the United States of America in the aggregate amount of $114,000.

'(4) The facilities of the municipal hospital have been severely overtaxed for several years by the normal requirements of the City and of the County of Dade, and the need for additional hospital services and facilities has been greatly increased in recent months, and such additional hospital services and facilities have also become necessary in order to assume adequate safeguards and facilities for defense operations.

'(5). The construction of extensions to the municipal hospital is necessary to continue the efficient operation and maintenance of the municipal hospital, to meet the constantly increasing demands for hospital services and treatment, to enlarge the usefulness of the existing hospital facilities, and to preserve the property, health and safety of the inhabitants of the City.

'(6). The execution of an agreement (hereinafter sometimes called the 'Agreement') between the City and the County of Dade (hereinafter sometimes called the 'County') in the form appended as 'Exhibit A' to Resolution No. 17659 hereinafter mentioned, has been duly authorized by the City Commission of the City of Miami (hereinafter sometimes called the 'Commission') and by the Board of County Commissioners of the County, under the provisions of which Agreement the City and the County agree in part as follows:

'The County will convey to the City by a good and sufficient deed of warranty, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, the fee simple title to the plat of land now owned by the County, which is in close proximity to the municipal hospital, lying and being in the City of Miami and described as follows: The northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 26, Township 53 South, Range 41 East, excepting therefrom the following strip of land: The west twenty-five feet, the east twenty five feet and the north thirty five feet.

'The City will construct thereon extensions to the municipal hospital, such extensions (hereinafter sometimes collectively called the 'extensions') to consist of: a fireproof five-story building to provide the equivalent of 300 hospital beds, completely equipped and furnished, including medical and surgical facilities, furniture for patients' rooms, halls and corridors, medical and surgical equipment, X-Ray equipment, kitchens, diet kitchens, and dining room equipment, a separate two-story nurses' dormitory, completely equipped and furnished, an emergency power plant, and grading, landscaping and construction of necessary roads, walkways and parking areas.

'The City leases to the County all of the extensions to the municipal hospital for a period of twenty-five years commencing on the first day of the month immediately following the date of completion of construction of the buildings described above and the County agrees to pay to the City as rent therefore the sum of $70,000 annually, payable in advance in quarterly installments of $17,500 on or before the first days of January, April, July and October in each year during the term of such lease; all moneys payable by the County to the City as rent under the provisions of this Agreement will be deposited by the County with such depositary as may be designated by the City; the County agrees to appropriate each year in its annual budget the amount required for making such quarterly payments; the obligation of the County to pay such rent to the City will cease and terminate on the first day of the month following the time when the principal of and the interest on all the hospital revenue bonds issued by the City to finance such extensions shall have been paid or sufficient moneys shall have been made available for the payment of such principal and interest, and the County agrees to manage, operate and maintain the extensions during the term of such lease. From and after the time when the extensions shall have been completed and opened for use and occupancy, the municipal hospital will be used primarily for the purpose of furnishing medical care and treatment to pay patients and the extensions will be used primarily for the purpose of furnishing medical care and treatment to charity patients, but both the municipal hospital and the extensions will be available to care for casualties or illness resulting from naval or military hostilities in the southeast Florida region or the Caribbean area, an epidemic of tropical disease in such area where naval or military bases are located, or a tropical storm in such region or area, and the County agrees that it will at all times provide, to the extent that funds for such purposes may lawfully be made available, adequate hospital facilities and furnish such medical care and treatment as may be necessary for charity patients residing in the City. Inasmuch as the City of Miami contains approximately 65% of the total population of the County of Dade, but contains only approximately 45% of the assessed value of real property in the County which is assessed for County purposes, the City should, in fairness and equity, bear an additional burden by contributing annually to the cost of charity patients who will use the extensions, and the City and the County have found and determined that the fair and reasonable amount of such additional burden which should be borne by the City is the sum of $72,000 annually, and the City agrees to pay such sum of $72,000 annually to the County for such purpose in monthly installments of $6,000 on the first day of each and every month commencing on the first day of the month immediately following the date of completion of construction of the buildings described above, and the City will appropriate each year in its annual budget the amount required for making such payment. The City agrees to convey to the County of fee simple title to the extensions, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, as soon as the principal of and the interest on all of the hospital revenue bonds referred to above shall have been paid or provisions made for such...