KRISTA ZIVKOVIC AND ROBERT ZIVKOVIC
v.
LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA AND GUARDIANS OF FLORIDA ANIMAL RESCUE, INC.
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The District Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction to review a deputy hearing examiner's decision and must transfer the petition to the circuit court.
[1] A district court of appeal lacks jurisdiction to review a decision of a county hearing examiner and must transfer such a petition to the circuit court, which is the appro…
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Court's statement of its duty to examine jurisdiction sua sponte
Petitioners filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the District Court of Appeal seeking review of a July 17, 2026 decision by a deputy hearing exa…
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SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
Case No. 6D2026-2194 Lower Tribunal Nos. SEZ2025-00018 and VAR2025-00012
KRISTA ZIVKOVIC and ROBERT ZIVKOVIC, Petitioners, v. LEE COUNTY and GUARDIANS OF FLORIDA ANIMAL RESCUE, INC., Respondents.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Office of the Hearing Examiner for Lee County. September 25, 2026
WHITE, J.
Petitioners filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the decision of a deputy hearing examiner for Lee County rendered on July 17, 2026 (the "Decision"). The petition and the Decision both state that the Decision is final, and the remedy under section 34-146 of the Lee County Land Development Code is to seek review by filing a petition for writ of certiorari in circuit court.
"We have an independent obligation to examine our jurisdiction in every case." Riggins v. Clifford R. Rhoades, P.A., 373 So. 3d 655, 660 n.4 (Fla. 6th DCA 2023). Because the Decision is not a trial court ruling, within the scope of rule 9.130,
or appealable by statute, no appeal jurisdiction exists. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(1). We lack certiorari jurisdiction under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.030(b)(2) because the Decision is neither a nonfinal order nor a final order rendered by a circuit court in its review capacity.
Assuming, without deciding, that we have original jurisdiction to issue a writ of common law certiorari under rule 9.030(b)(3), we "decline such jurisdiction in favor of the circuit court." Lightsey Cattle Co. v. Fla. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm'n, 413 So. 3d 182, 191 (Fla. 6th DCA 2024). Because the petition in this case was timely filed, we transfer the petition to the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Lee County. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.040(b)(1) (“If a proceeding is commenced in an inappropriate court, that court will transfer the cause to an appropriate court."); Lightsey Cattle, 413 So. 3d at 192.
PETITION TRANSFERRED.
NARDELLA and WOZNIAK, JJ., concur.
Krista Zivkovic and Robert Zivkovic, North Fort Myers, pro se.
No Appearance for Respondents