Wells v. Cochrane

• Decision Date: 14 April 1939
• Parties: WELLS v. COCHRANE et al.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

188 So. 87

137 Fla. 241

WELLS v. COCHRANE et al.

Florida Supreme Court, Division B.

April 14, 1939

Proceeding by M. G. Wells against Stanley Cochrane, as chairman of the board of county commissioners of Pasco county, Fla., and B A. Thomas and others, members of the board of county commissioners, for an injunction. From an order denying the application, the plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed. Appeal from Circuit Court, Pasco County; T Frank Hobson, judge.

COUNSEL

Martin & Martin, of Plant City, for appellant.

Larkin & Larkin and W. Kenneth Barnes, all of Dade City, for appellees.

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

This case is here on appeal from an order dated October 14, 1938 entered by the Circuit Court of Pasco County, Florida denying the application of the plaintiff below for a temporary injunction (a) to restrain the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, from printing ballots and naming inspectors and from holding a local option election pursuant to Chapter 13250, Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1927, controlling live stock running at large in certain portions of Pasco County, Florida; (b) and that the temporary restraining order upon proper proof on final hearing be made by a final decree of the Court permanent. The bill of complaint alleged that the County Commissioners on October 3, 1938, called an election to be held on November 8 1938.

Counsel for appellees contend that the decree denying the temporary injunction should be affirmed for two reasons: (1) that the granting of a temporary injunction rests largely in the sound judicial discretion of the trial court, to be governed by the circumstances of each case; and that a presumption exists as to the correctness of the ruling of the lower court and an abuse of the discretion with which the trial court is clothed has not on this record been shown to have occurred by refusing or denying the temporary restraining order. We agree to this contention. See McMullen v. County of Pinellas, 90 Fla. 398, 106 So. 73; Savage v. Parker, 53 Fla. 1002, 43 So. 507; Gillis v. State Live Stock Sanitary Board, 94 Fla. 890, 114 So. 509; Builders Supply Co. v. Acton, 56 Fla. 756, 47 So. 822; Holt v. De Loach-Edwards Co., 56 Fla. 902, 48 So. 1039; Allen v. Hawley, 6 Fla. 142, 63 Am. Dec. 198; McKinne v. Dickenson, 24 Fla. 366, 5 So. 34; Taylor v. Florida East Coast R. Co., 54 Fla. 635, 45 So. 574, 16 L.R.A.,N.S., 307, 127 Am.St.Rep. 155, 14 Ann.Cas. 472; Viser v. Willard, 60 Fla. 395, 53 So. 501; Linton v. Denham, 6 Fla. 533.

(2) The election was called on October 3, 1938, by the County Commissioners of Pasco County to be held on the 8th day of November, 1938, on the part of the qualified voters of Pasco County, Florida, and the order denying the restraining order is dated October 11, 1938. The transcript of record was filed in this Court on October 17, 1938, and counsel for appellant on November 18, 1938, filed his original brief and on December 5, 1938, appellee filed a reply brief in which he makes known that the election was held on November 8, 1938 and the court's order refusing to restrain the holding of the election is now moot as the time therefor elapsed. See City of St. Petersburg v. Clark, 127 Fla. 232, 166 So. 563; Alabama Coal Co. v. Bowden, 44 Fla. 163, 31 So. 820; Tyler v. Peacock, 98 Fla. 981, 124 So. 463; Hogan v. State ex rel. Williams, 86 Fla. 361, 98 So. 70; Yent v. State ex rel. Richardson, 66 Fla. 336, 63 So. 452, 49 L.R.A.,N.S., 1204; McCormick v. Bond, 75 Fla. 819, 78 So. 681; DuBose v. Meister, 92 Fla. 995, 110 So. 546.

It is...