BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CITY OF MIAMI FIRE FIGHTERS' & POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT TRUST, PETITIONER,
v.
IVAN FERNANDEZ, RESPONDENT

Fla. 3d DCA | 1996-06-05
No. 96-633
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and NESBITT and LEVY, JJ.
675 So. 2d 638 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1996) Caution
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Board of Trustees of the City of Miami Fire Fighters' & Police Officers' Retirement Trust sought certiorari review of a circuit court decision that quashed the Board's denial of disability retirement benefits to police officer Ivan Fernandez. The appellate court denied the Board's writ of certiorari, finding the circuit court's decision compliant with statutory requirements, and granted Fernandez's motion for attorney's fees.


Holding

The court denied the Board's writ of certiorari, finding the circuit court's decision requiring more specific notice to be in full compliance with the law. The court also granted Fernandez's motion for attorney's fees under section 185.40, Florida Statutes, which entitles the prevailing party in judicial proceedings under the Municipal Police Officers' Retirement Trust Funds chapter to recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees.


Headnotes

[1] A denial of disability retirement benefits must provide timely, adequate written notice setting forth the specific reasons for the denial.

[2] A court reviewing a denial of disability retirement benefits on certiorari may deny the writ if the lower court's decision complies with the essential requirements of law…

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

Key Quotes

“There shall be timely adequate written notice given to any member or beneficiary whose claim for benefits under the terms of his or her retirement system or plan has been denied, setting forth the specific reasons for such denial”

Statutory requirement from section 112.66(7), Florida Statutes, that the Board violated by providing only a conclusory denial

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Ivan Fernandez, a City of Miami police officer, applied for disability retirement benefits. The Board denied his application by notice stating that it…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

The City of Miami Retirement Board seeks certiorari review of a circuit court appellate decision, itself rendered on certiorari, which quashed an order of the Board denying the application of the respondent, a City of Miami police officer, for disability retirement benefits. We deny the writ and grant the respondent’s motion for attorney’s fees.

I.

The basis of the ruling below was that the conclusory notice given the petitioner of the denial of benefits1 met neither the requirements of due process nor those of section 112.66(7), Florida Statutes (1995) that:

There shall be timely adequate written notice given to any member or beneficiary whose claim for benefits under the terms of his or her retirement system or plan has been denied, setting forth the specific reasons for such denial, [e.s.]

Because, notwithstanding an incorrect but immaterial reference in dictum to the “Florida Administrative Procedure Act,” the decision and opinion below are in full compliance with the essential requirements of the law, certiorari is denied. See Smith v. Metropolitan Dade County, 532 So. 2d 84 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Polar Ice Cream & Creamery Co. v. Andrews, 150 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 1st DCA 1963); Mendelson v. City Supplemental Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers, 3 Fla.L. Weekly Supp. 145 (Fla. 11th Cir.Ct. April 21, 1995), cert. denied, 665 So. 2d 227 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (table). See generally Haines City Community Dev. v. Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523 (Fla.1995); City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So. 2d 624 (Fla.1982).

II.

Fernandez has filed a motion for an award of the attorney’s fees involved in this proceeding, as assertedly authorized by section 185.40, Florida Statutes (1995). That provision states:

In any judicial proceeding or administrative proceeding under chapter 120 brought under or pursuant to the provisions of this chapter [which deals with “Municipal Police Officers’ Retirement Trust Funds”], the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover the costs thereof, together with reasonable attorney’s fees.

We agree that this case clearly qualifies as a “judicial proceeding ... brought under or pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.” Hence, as have each of the several other courts presented with the identical issue, we grant the motion. City of Tamarac Employees’ Pension v. Roden, No. 91-1559 (Fla. 4th DCA August 28, 1991); George v. Board of Trustees, 3 Fla.L.Weekly Supp. 571 (Fla. 12th Cir.Ct. Oct. 12, 1995); Anderson v. Board of Trustees, 1 Fla.L.Weekly Supp. 208 (Fla. 15th Cir.Ct. Jan. 25, 1993) (applying equivalent fire fighters’ statute, section 175.391, Florida Statutes (1991)); Roden v. City of Tamarac Employees’ Pension Trust Fund, No. 90-15063 (Fla. 17th Cir.Ct. May 3, 1991 and May 27, 1992) (same). In accordance with Sierra v. Sierra, 505 So. 2d 432 (Fla.1987), the cause is remanded to the administrative judge of the appellate division of the circuit court for determination of the appropriate amount.

Certiorari denied, motion for attorney’s fees granted and remanded.

. "The City of Miami Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers' Retirement Trust Board, at their meeting of September 16, 1994, moved to deny your request for disability retirement as it was not established that your disability is total, permanent, or service incurred. Therefore, you are not entitled to accidental, service incurred or ordinary disability."


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …and police pensions in Florida including such issues as requirements for retirement, § 175.162; beneficiaries, § 175.181; and disability retirement, § 175.191. See, e.g., Bd. of Trs. of Miami Firefighters’ & Police Officers’ Ret. Trust v. Fernandez, 675 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (discussing disability retirement); Haddix v. City of Pan. City, 624 So. 2d 801 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993) (discussing city’s contributions). This case is distinct from Fernandez and Haddix because this litigation challenges the Board’s…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw