ROBERT D. BRACEWELL
v.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES DIVISION OF LICENSING
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The appellant sought to challenge the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' suspension of his concealed weapons license application, but the Department issued the license shortly after the appeal was filed, mooting the case.
The appeal is moot and the Division's motion to dismiss is granted. No attorneys' fees are awarded because no motion for attorneys' fees is pending and the limited record does not establish a gross abuse of agency discretion as required by statute.
[1] An appeal is moot when the agency action that precipitated the appeal is reversed or corrected before the appellate court can review it.
[2] An appellate court may award attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party if the agency action precipitating the appeal was a gross abuse of the agency's discretion.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“When there is an appeal, the court in its discretion may award reasonable attorney's fees and reasonable costs to the prevailing party if the court finds . . . that the agency action which precipitated the appeal was a gross abuse of the agency's discretion.”
Establishes the statutory standard for awarding attorneys' fees in administrative appeals under Florida Statutes section 120.595(5).
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Department suspended the appellant's concealed weapons license application on or before July 26, 2019. The appellant filed a notice of appeal on F…
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PER CURIAM.
This appeal arises from a dispute about the issuance of a concealed weapons license. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, initially suspended the Appellant’s application for a license, which resulted in a notice of appeal filed on Friday, July 26, 2019. On the following business day, Monday, July 29, 2019, the Division lifted the suspension and issued the license. Two months later, the Division moved to dismiss this appeal as moot. Appellant counters that the appeal is not moot because the Division has a practice of suspending
applications and later issuing licenses after legal action is instituted, resulting in applicants having to incur attorneys’ fees and costs needlessly; Appellant, however, has not filed a motion seeking such fees or costs. Based on the foregoing, the Division’s motion to dismiss is granted. No motion for attorneys’ fees is pending and no basis exists to award them under the statutory “gross abuse of agency discretion” standard on the limited record presented. § 120.595(5), Fla. Stat. (2019) (“When there is an appeal, the court in its discretion may award reasonable attorney’s fees and reasonable costs to the prevailing party if the court finds . . . that the agency action which precipitated the appeal was a gross abuse of the agency’s discretion.”). RAY, C.J., and WOLF and MAKAR, JJ., concur. _____________________________