CITY OF MIAMI, APPELLANT,
v.
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NATIONAL BANK, ET. AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 2015-04-29
No. 3D13-3250
Before SHEPHERD, C.J., and SALTER and FERNANDEZ, JJ.
163 So. 3d 716 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2015)

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 City of Miami appealed a trial court injunction that prohibited it from demolishing property at 500 S.W. 56th Avenue pending conclusion of a foreclosure action. The appellate court affirmed the finding that the City failed to provide proper notice of the demolition proceeding, but reversed the portion extending the injunction through the foreclosure action's conclusion, finding it lacked statutory support and violated procedural requirements for injunction orders.


Holding

The appellate court affirmed that the City did not provide proper notice of the demolition proceeding, but reversed the portion of the injunction prohibiting the City from proceeding further until the foreclosure action concluded. The court remanded with instructions to strike the portion extending the injunction, allowing the City to proceed with demolition if it followed applicable ordinances and statutes.


Headnotes

[1] An injunction order must specify the reasons for its entry as required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610(c).

[2] An injunction prohibiting a municipality from demolishing property is improper if the property owners have not received proper statutory notice of the demolition proceedi…

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Key Quotes

“The injunction order fails to specify the reasons for its entry, as Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610(c) requires.”

Establishes the procedural defect in the trial court's injunction order

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Facts & Procedural History

The City of Miami sought to demolish property located at 500 S.W. 56th Avenue in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The trial court issued an injunction prev…

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Opinion of the Court
FERNANDEZ, J.

*717FERNANDEZ, J.

The City of Miami appeals the trial court’s non-final order that enjoined the City from demolishing the property located at 500 S.W. 56th Avenue, Miami-Dade County, Florida, until the conclusion of the underlying foreclosure action. We affirm that portion of the injunction which finds that the City did not give proper notice of the proposed demolition proceeding, but reverse that portion of the injunction prohibiting the City from proceeding further until the instant foreclosure action is concluded.

The injunction order fails to specify the reasons for its entry, as Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610(c) requires.1 See Premier Lab Supply, Inc. v. Chemplex Indus., Inc., 10 So.3d 202, 206-07 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (reversing a permanent injunction order and remanding the case for the trial court to enter an order specifying the reasons for entry, pursuant to rule 1.610(c)); Hasley v. Harrell, 971 So.2d 149, 152-53 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007) (reversing an injunction order because its form was deficient, pursuant to rule 1.610(c)). Furthermore, there is no record support for the injunction that prevents the City’s exercise of its right to demolish the property once the property owners have received proper notice as required by statute.

We thus remand to the trial court to strike the portion of the order that extends the injunction through the conclusion of the foreclosure action. The City may then begin the process to demolish the subject property, consistent with applicable ordinances and statutes, if it deems that action necessary.

Affirmed in part; reversed in part, and remanded with instructions.

SALTER, J., concurs.

SHEPHERD, C.J.,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

I would simply affirm the decision of the trial court. The majority is obviously concerned that the injunction’s duration — “until the instant foreclosure proceeding is concluded” — will hamstring the City’s ability to demolish a nuisance property for an indeterminate period of time. However, despite being on notice at the two hearings below that the petitioners sought the stated durational relief, the City neither raised nor discussed the injunction’s requested duration at either hearing. The trial court explicitly ordered the City to draft the order in which the durational period appears. The City did not seek reconsideration or rehearing of the order as drafted before initiating this appeal, the City has not raised the durational period as an issue here, and, so far as the record reveals, has not moved to dissolve that portion of the injunction after entry. The City is and was represented by able counsel. It may be that the house in this case needs to be demolished immediately. We do not know, and the property owners have yet to have their say.

Courts that decide matters not properly before them reside on a slippery slope. This may be just a small slip; however, it is a cardinal principle of judging that the first business of a court is to mind its own business. In this case, we unnecessarily and improperly place our thumb on the *718scale in favor of the City. As aptly stated by Chief Justice Roberts, “[i]f it is not necessary to decide more, it is necessary not to decide more.” Citizens United v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 558 U.S. 310, 130 S.Ct. 876, 919, 175 L.Ed.2d 753 (2010) (Chief Justice Roberts concurring); PDK Lab. Inc. v. U.S. D.E.A., 362 F.3d 786, 799 (D.C.Cir.2004) (Judge Roberts concurring in part and concurring in the judgment).

Other
SHEPHERD, C.J.,

SHEPHERD, C.J.,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

I would simply affirm the decision of the trial court. The majority is obviously concerned that the injunction’s duration — “until the instant foreclosure proceeding is concluded” — will hamstring the City’s ability to demolish a nuisance property for an indeterminate period of time.

However, despite being on notice at the two hearings below that the petitioners sought the stated durational relief, the City neither raised nor discussed the injunction’s requested duration at either hearing.

The trial court explicitly ordered the City to draft the order in which the durational period appears. The City did not seek reconsideration or rehearing of the order as drafted before initiating this appeal, the City has not raised the durational period as an issue here, and, so far as the record reveals, has not moved to dissolve that portion of the injunction after entry. The City is and was represented by able counsel. It may be that the house in this case needs to be demolished immediately. We do not know, and the property owners have yet to have their say.

Courts that decide matters not properly before them reside on a slippery slope. This may be just a small slip; however, it is a cardinal principle of judging that the first business of a court is to mind its own business. In this case, we unnecessarily and improperly place our thumb on the scale in favor of the City. As aptly stated by Chief Justice Roberts, “[i]f it is not necessary to decide more, it is necessary not to decide more.” Citizens United v. Fed. Election Comm’n, 558 U.S. 310, 130 S.Ct. 876, 919, 175 L.Ed.2d 753 (2010) (Chief Justice Roberts concurring); PDK Lab. Inc. v. U.S. D.E.A., 362 F. 3d 786, 799 (D.C.Cir.2004) (Judge Roberts concurring in part and concurring in the judgment).


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