THOMAS L. ODEM, APPELLANT,
v.
CONSTRUCTION TRADES QUALIFYING BOARD OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Thomas Odem appeals the quashing of his mandamus petition seeking reinstatement of a master plumber certificate that was erroneously issued and then recalled by the Construction Trades Qualifying Board of Dade County. The court affirmed the dismissal, finding that Odem failed to establish the clear legal right necessary to obtain mandamus relief.
The court held that Odem failed to establish a clear legal right because he did not allege or attach evidence that he possessed a master plumber's certificate of competency from the City of Hialeah, as required by Dade County Ordinance 57-25 to qualify for the grandfather clause exemption.
[1] Mandamus will not issue absent a clear legal right in the relator.
[2] A petitioner seeking a writ of mandamus must allege and demonstrate possession of a certificate or license required by the relevant ordinance.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is basic that to warrant the issuance of mandamus, there must be a clear legal right in the relator.”
Establishes the fundamental requirement for mandamus relief that Odem must satisfy.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePrior to December 1, 1957, Odem was a practicing plumber in Hialeah with a license limited to plumbing repairs. When Dade County Ordinance 57-25 becam…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant seeks review of an order quashing alternative and amended writ of mandamus and dismissing cause.
Prior to December 1, 1957 relator, Thomas L. Odem, was a practicing plumber in Hialeah and held a Hialeah license which indicated that relator limited his business to plumbing repairs.
On December 1, 1957 Dade County ordinance 57-25 relating to the regulations of the trades and issuance of certificates of competency became effective. This ordinance contained a ‘grandfather” clause which provided for the issuance of a certificate of competency without the required written examination to an applicant who at the time of the effective date of the ordinance held a current license or certificate issued by a municipality in Dade County in the same category as that applied for. Relator made application thereunder and was issued by the county a certificate as a master plumber.
However, this certificate, having been issued erroneously was recalled and relator then was issued a journeyman’s certificate because relator limited his practice to plumbing repairs.
On June 5, 1973 relator petitioned the Construction Trades Qualifying Board of Dade County, Florida, appellee herein, to correct the action it had taken in rescinding and recalling his certificate of competency as a master plumber and to issue to him an unrestricted certificate of competency as a master plumber because the rescission of the certificate was a mistake or error. Appel-lee board denied the petition. Thereupon relator filed in the circuit court a petition for alternative writ of mandamus. Appel-lee board in response thereto filed a motion to quash petition. After a hearing thereon, the court entered an order holding the motion to quash in abeyance for further argument and granted relator 20 days to amend his petition. The relator filed his amended petition for alternative writ of mandamus and appellee board filed a motion to quash the amended petition. Both parties submitted respective memoranda of law and subsequently the court entered its order quashing the amended petition for alternative writ of mandamus and dismissed the cause. Relator appeals therefrom.
We affirm.
It is basic that to warrant the issuance of mandamus, there must be a clear legal right in the relator. See 21 Fla.Jur. Mandamus § 24 (1958) and cases cited therein. After a close scrutiny of relator’s amended petition for alternative writ of mandamus, we find that there is no allegation contained 'therein that relator pos sessed a master plumber’s certificate of competency from the City of Hialeah in which he carried on his business as required by Dade County ordinance 57-25. In addition, there is no such certificate of competency attached to his petition. Thus, we find that the relator failed to establish a clear legal right and, therefore, the judge was eminently correct in quashing the petition and dismissing the cause.
Accordingly, the order herein appealed is affirmed.
Affirmed.