Stiller v. Florida Dept. of Labor and Employment Sec.

Decision Date12 July 1996
Docket NumberNo. 96-432,96-432
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals
Parties21 Fla. L. Weekly D1614 Thomas C. STILLER, Appellant, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Appellee.

Albert S.C. Millar, Jr., Mayport, for Appellant.

Edward A. Dion, General Counsel and David C. Hawkins, Senior Attorney, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner Thomas Stiller filed an application for net buy back on July 5, 1995, indicating he intended to turn in 6000 yards each of seine and gill nets. He was notified (in an undated letter) by the Department of Labor and Employment Security that, based on both his application and the amounts of fish landed which were listed on his trip tickets, he was entitled to turn in up to 6000 yards of seine net and up to 8400 yards of any other type of net, and that if he chose to appeal that determination he had to file a written petition within 21 days requesting a hearing. Stiller's net recovery receipt, dated October 2, 1995, lists 8400 yards of seine net and 6000 yards of gill net of 50 meshes or more. Stiller responded to the undated notice with a letter dated October 17, 1995, in which he stated that he had received the notice on September 29, 1995, and was requesting initiation of formal proceedings to protest the limitation to 6000 yards of seine net. There was additional correspondence from Stiller's attorney requesting the initiation of formal proceedings. Finally, on January 24, 1996, the agency sent Stiller's counsel a letter explaining that the agency was prohibited by court order from taking any further action on the administrative appeal.

Stiller asserts that that letter was a denial of a hearing which is an appealable non-final agency action, and asks this court to order the agency to immediately refer Stiller's appeal to the "Department of Administration" (apparently referring to the Division of Administrative Hearings). He also asks this court to order that his priority for payment from the fund (which pays on a first-come first-served basis) be established as of October 17, 1995, the date he sent his letter seeking an appeal. Finally, without citation of any authority, Mr. Stiller requests this court to award him costs and attorney's fees for this appeal. The Department of Labor and Employment Security asserts that relief should be denied because the letter was not a reviewable agency action and because it cannot lawfully provide an immediate administrative resolution of Stiller's claim without offending the injunction issued in McClain v. State.

We reject the argument that the letter denying Mr. Stiller a hearing was not a reviewable agency action. This case comes under the aegis of Fla.Stat. § 120.68(1) which states that a party may obtain judicial review of "[a] preliminary, procedural, or intermediate agency action or ruling, including any order of a hearing officer ... if review of the final agency decision would not provide an adequate remedy." See, e.g., Prudential Property & Casualty Ins. Co. of Indiana v. Dep't of Insurance, 626 So.2d 994, 999 (...

To continue reading

Request your trial
1 cases
  • State, Dept. of Labor and Employment Sec. v. Lindquist
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 23 Julio 1997
    ...action case did not justify the Department's refusal to take action on an administrative appeal. See Stiller v. Florida Dep't of Labor & Employment Sec., 677 So.2d 377 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). On November 15, 1996, appellees filed complaints against the Department seeking relief for breach of c......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT