Plain And Ordinary Meaning

93 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• State v. Carter
  835 So. 2d 259· Fla.· 2002-12-05 ·cited 205×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that failure to file a single monthly probation report may justify revocation of probation if the violation is willful and substantial, rejecting a per se rule that such a failure can never support revocation. The Court quashed the First District's
• L.B. v. State
  700 So. 2d 370· Fla.· 1997-10-02 ·cited 155×
  The Florida Supreme Court reversed the Second District Court of Appeal's decision that section 790.001(13)'s exception for 'common pocketknives' was unconstitutionally vague. The Court held that the term provides ordinary citizens fair notice of forbidden conduct and vacated the
• Se. Fisheries Ass'n, Inc. v. Dep't OF Natural Res.
  453 So. 2d 1351· Fla.· 1984-04-26 ·cited 142×
  The Florida Supreme Court addressed whether the state fish trap statute applies to extraterritorial waters beyond Florida's territorial limits. The Court held that the statute, which prohibits possession and use of unlawful fish traps, is constitutional as applied within Florida'
• The Sch. Bd. OF Palm Beach Cnty. v. Survivors Charter Schs., Inc.
  3 So. 3d 1220· Fla.· 2009-02-27 ·cited 102×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that school boards are not required to follow the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when immediately terminating charter school charters under Section 1002.33(8)(d) for good cause or threat to student health and safety. The court rejected the Fourt
• Naji Nehme v. Smithkline Beecham Clinical Labs., Inc.
  863 So. 2d 201· Fla.· 2003-09-25 ·cited 80×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that the term "concealment" in the medical malpractice statute of repose does not encompass negligent diagnosis. The court interpreted section 95.11(4)(b) to require knowledge or intent for concealment, thereby declining to extend the seven-year rep
• Verro Chambers v. State
  752 So. 2d 64· Fla. 1st DCA· 2000-02-11 ·cited 66×
  Appellant challenges the constitutionality of Florida's Prison Releasee Reoffender Punishment Act on eight grounds. The appellate court affirms the trial court's denial of the motion to declare the statute unconstitutional, finding all of appellant's arguments previously rejected
• Dufresne v. State
  826 So. 2d 272· Fla.· 2002-09-05 ·cited 61×
  The Florida Supreme Court addressed whether the term "mental injury" in the child abuse statute (section 827.03(1)(b)) is unconstitutionally vague. The Court held that the term is not vague because it is adequately defined in related statutory provisions in chapter 39, and statut
• Zold v. Zold
  911 So. 2d 1222· Fla.· 2005-09-15 ·cited 60×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that undistributed "pass-through" income from an S corporation does not automatically constitute income for calculating alimony, child support, and attorney's fees under chapter 61, but rather depends on whether the income was retained for legitimat
• Bell v. Indian River Mem'l Hosp.
  778 So. 2d 1030· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-02-07 ·cited 58×
  Parents of a stillborn child sued Indian River Memorial Hospital for negligent mishandling of the deceased infant's remains after an autopsy, alleging the hospital disposed of the remains without returning them despite repeated requests. The trial court dismissed the complaint as
• State v. Barnes
  686 So. 2d 633· Fla. 2d DCA· 1996-11-27 ·cited 57×
  Florida appeals a trial court's dismissal of a fleeing and eluding charge on vagueness grounds. The court reverses, holding that section 316.1935(2), which penalizes causing a law enforcement officer to engage in a high-speed vehicle pursuit, is not unconstitutionally vague as ap
• Beans v. Chohonis
  740 So. 2d 65· Fla. 3d DCA· 1999-07-07 ·cited 46×
  The court held that the phrase 'leave the employment... for any reason' in a stock transfer agreement unambiguously includes involuntary termination.
• State v. Salvation Ltd., Inc.
  452 So. 2d 65· Fla. 1st DCA· 1984-05-22 ·cited 46×
  The Florida Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco appealed a hearing officer's decision invalidating an administrative rule requiring that meals served at special restaurant liquor license establishments be prepared and cooked on the premises. The court affirmed, holding
• Simmons v. Lawrence Schimmel, M.D.
  476 So. 2d 1342· Fla. 3d DCA· 1985-10-08 ·cited 44×
  The appellate court reversed an award of attorney's fees to a defendant-physician following the plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of a medical malpractice action. The court held that a defendant cannot be deemed a "prevailing party" entitled to fees under Florida's medical malpract
• Metro. Dade Cnty. v. The State of Fla. Dep't OF Env't Prot. & Sekoff Invs., Inc.
  714 So. 2d 512· Fla. 3d DCA· 1998-06-10 ·cited 39×
  Miami-Dade County appealed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) decision approving Sekoff Investments' eligibility for the Florida Drycleaning Contamination Cleanup Program. The County contended that Sekoff committed gross negligence by willfully violating
• Hampton v. State
  103 So. 3d 98· Fla.· 2012-07-12 ·cited 38×
  John Lee Hampton was convicted of first-degree murder for the June 2007 death of Renee McKinness in Florida and sentenced to death. On direct appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Hampton's conviction and death sentence, rejecting claims regarding juror disqualification, fel
• Gordon v. Regier
  839 So. 2d 715· Fla. 2d DCA· 2003-01-15 ·cited 37×
  The court held that Florida's Sexually Violent Predator Act applies only to persons in custody or total confinement at the time civil commitment proceedings are commenced. Because Gordon was released from DOC custody into the civilian population before being arrested on a DCF war
• M.C. v. State
  695 So. 2d 477· Fla. 3d DCA· 1997-06-11 ·cited 33×
  M.C., a juvenile, was adjudicated delinquent for violating Florida's statute prohibiting disruption of school functions after she loudly protested her brother's arrest in the school office. The appellate court upheld the statute against facial challenges of unconstitutionality, f
• Milazzo v. State
  377 So. 2d 1161· Fla.· 1979-12-13 ·cited 31×
  Milazzo appeals his conviction for selling or delivering cocaine, arguing the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on attempted sale or delivery. The Florida Supreme Court affirms the conviction, rejecting the Third District's reasoning that attempted sale and deliv
• Powell v. State
  508 So. 2d 1307· Fla. 1st DCA· 1987-06-17 ·cited 26×
  Correctional officers Powell and Roulhac were convicted of malpractice by a jailer under Florida Statute § 950.09 for using excessive force on inmates. They appealed, arguing the statute's prohibition on "willful inhumanity and oppression" is unconstitutionally vague, but the cou
• Campus Commc'ns, Inc. v. Dep't OF Revenue
  473 So. 2d 1290· Fla.· 1985-07-11 ·cited 24×
  Campus Communications, Inc., publisher of the free student newspaper The Independent Florida Alligator, challenged a Department of Revenue sales tax assessment on newspapers purchased from a printer. The Florida Supreme Court held that the administrative rule denying the newspape
• United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Salgado
  22 So. 3d 594· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-08-05 ·cited 22×
  United Automobile Insurance Company sought certiorari review of a circuit court decision affirming a declaratory judgment that an insured's no-fault motor vehicle insurance policy remained valid despite the insurer's attempt to rescind it for material misrepresentation. The Flori
• State v. Stewart
  374 So. 2d 1381· Fla.· 1979-09-06 ·cited 22×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that an information charging the sale of marijuana need not allege prior drug convictions, consideration for the delivery, or that the amount exceeded five grams to constitute a felony charge. The Court overruled the overly broad language in Patters
• T.M.H. v. D.M.T.
  79 So. 3d 787· Fla. 5th DCA· 2011-12-23 ·cited 20×
  This landmark Florida case addresses whether two women in a same-sex relationship who conceived a child through in vitro fertilization—using one woman's genetic material implanted in the other—share parental rights. The court held that both the biological and birth mother have co
• Seese v. State
  955 So. 2d 1145· Fla. 4th DCA· 2007-03-28 ·cited 20×
  Carl Seese was convicted of aggravated stalking for making 90 collect calls from jail to his ex-girlfriend in violation of a court-ordered injunction prohibiting contact. On appeal, Seese challenged the jury instruction on 'maliciously' and the state's closing argument, but the a
• VAN Meter v. Singletary
  682 So. 2d 1162· Fla. 1st DCA· 1996-10-30 ·cited 20×
  An inmate challenged a disciplinary sanction via mandamus petition filed 18 months after the administrative appeal was denied. The trial court dismissed the petition under a 30-day statute of limitations for prisoner disciplinary actions. The appellate court held the statute unco
• Gasson v. Gay
  49 So.2d 525· Fla.· 1950-12-22 ·cited 19×
  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's decision dismissing a case challenging the state's sales tax on magazines and periodicals. The court held that the legislative exemption for "newspapers" did not extend to magazines and periodicals, finding the classification rea
• Gar-Con Dev., Inc. v. State
  468 So. 2d 413· Fla. 1st DCA· 1985-04-25 ·cited 18×
  Gar-Con Development challenged the Department of Environmental Regulation's denial of a dock construction permit based on an unpromulgated agency policy defining pile driving as "dredging" in Class II shellfish waters. The court reversed, holding that agencies cannot apply polici
• Beckett v. Dep't OF Fin. Servs.
  982 So. 2d 94· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-05-12 ·cited 15×
  Paula Beckett, an insurance agent, challenged the Department of Financial Services' suspension of her license for engaging in "sliding"—selling ancillary insurance products without informed customer consent. The court affirmed the finding of sliding but reversed the Department's
• State v. DE LA Llana
  693 So. 2d 1075· Fla. 2d DCA· 1997-05-16 ·cited 14×
  Florida appeals a county court's dismissal of a criminal charge under Fla. Stat. § 893.13(7)(a)5, which prohibits keeping or maintaining a place where controlled substances are used or sold. The appellate court reverses, holding the statute is facially constitutional and not impe
• Plante v. Dep't of Bus. & Prof'l Reg.
  685 So. 2d 886· Fla. 4th DCA· 1996-11-13 ·cited 14×
  A veterinarian licensed to work at a harness racing track appeals his suspension and $2,000 fine for administering a sodium bicarbonate solution ("milkshake") to a racehorse. The court affirms the finding that he violated Florida's prohibition on administering drugs to affect rac
• Jones v. Williams Pawn & GUN, Inc.
  800 So. 2d 267· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-10-10 ·cited 13×
  Section 790.17, Florida Statutes, prohibiting the sale of firearms to persons of unsound mind, is not unconstitutionally vague as applied. The statute provides fair notice under its plain and ordinary meaning—derived from Black's Law Dictionary defining "unsound mind" as describi
• Orlando Reg'l Healthcare Sys., Inc. v. Florida Birth-Related Neurological
  997 So. 2d 426· Fla. 5th DCA· 2008-10-31 ·cited 12×
  Orlando Regional Healthcare System appeals an administrative decision denying compensation for a newborn's brain injury under Florida's Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan. The court reversed, holding that the ALJ misinterpreted the statutory phrase "resuscitation
• State v. Hoyt
  609 So. 2d 744· Fla. 1st DCA· 1992-12-07 ·cited 12×
  Florida appealed three orders from Clay County Court that struck down Florida Statute § 370.11(3) as unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The statute regulated shad fishing, including prohibiting fishing between Saturday sundown and Monday sunrise. The First District Court of
• Wilhelm Bertens v. Stewart
  453 So. 2d 92· Fla. 2d DCA· 1984-06-20 ·cited 12×
  A Florida appellate court reversed a school suspension and alternative program placement of a fifth-grader for bringing vitamin pills to school, holding that the school board's rule prohibiting possession of "medicine" was unconstitutionally vague because it failed to define "med
• Freedman v. State Bd. OF Accountancy
  370 So. 2d 1168· Fla. 4th DCA· 1979-01-31 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the petitioner failed to meet the statutory requirements for a reciprocal certificate of accountancy because he lacked a bachelor's degree and did not achieve a passing score on the second part of the CPA exam.
• Pate v. Renfroe
  715 So. 2d 1094· Fla. 1st DCA· 1998-08-13 ·cited 11×
  Robert Pate appealed a judgment entered after a jury verdict in an automobile accident personal injury case, challenging the trial court's denial of his motions for new trial/additur and the $10,000 PIP set-off applied to reduce his verdict. The appellate court affirmed the denia
• Dante Martin v. State
  207 So. 3d 310· Fla. 5th DCA· 2016-11-18 ·cited 10×
  Dante Martin was convicted of manslaughter, felony hazing resulting in death, and two counts of misdemeanor hazing after Robert Champion died following a hazing ritual called "Crossing Bus C" at Florida A&M University. On appeal, Martin challenged the constitutionality of the haz
• Zivitz v. Zivitz
  16 So. 3d 841· Fla. 2d DCA· 2009-05-22 ·cited 10×
  Robert Zivitz appeals a garnishment judgment awarding proceeds from his condominium sale to his ex-wife and son. The trial court struck Robert's untimely homestead exemption claim because he failed to file it within 20 days of receiving garnishment notice as required by Florida s
• Dinesh Pandya v. Israel
  761 So. 2d 454· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-06-07 ·cited 10×
  The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a trial court's decision invalidating an agreement between Palm Beach County and Dinesh Pandya for the sale of timeshare units held by the County through tax certificates. The court held that Florida Statute § 125.35(1)(a) requir
• Jenkins v. State
  618 So. 2d 749· Fla. 1st DCA· 1993-04-27 ·cited 10×
  Jenkins challenges her separation from state career service for job abandonment after failing to report to work for three days following her father's murder. The First District Court of Appeal reversed the Department of Administration's abandonment determination, holding that inv
• Willens v. Garcia
  53 So. 3d 1113· Fla. 3d DCA· 2011-01-26 ·cited 9×
  Shane Willens appealed the reassessment of homestead property to full value upon his father's death, arguing he should retain the Save-Our-Homes assessment cap as a caregiver. The court held that Willens, an able-bodied adult who served as his father's in-home caregiver for twent
• State v. Farnham
  752 So. 2d 12· Fla. 5th DCA· 2000-01-07 ·cited 9×
  The State of Florida appeals the trial court's dismissal of 87 counts charging Ronald Farnham with possession of child pornography images stored in a computer archive file. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reverses, holding that both possession of the entire archive file and po
• Robinson v. State
  205 So. 3d 584· Fla.· 2016-11-17 ·cited 8×
  The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict among district courts regarding whether the statute of limitations for felony prosecution is tolled when a defendant is continuously absent from the state. The court held that section 775.15(5) requires only proof of continuous absenc
• Bryant v. State
  712 So. 2d 781· Fla. 2d DCA· 1998-06-12 ·cited 8×
  James Bryant appealed his no-contest pleas to cocaine sale charges, challenging the constitutionality of the "public park" language in the drug trafficking statute, the trial court's handling of his request to discharge counsel, and the court's failure to ensure he understood hab
• State v. Campbell
  664 So. 2d 1085· Fla. 5th DCA· 1995-12-08 ·cited 8×
  The State sought certiorari review of a trial court's order that barred child hearsay evidence by finding Florida Statute § 90.803(23)(a) unconstitutionally vague for failing to define 'physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age.' The appellate court reversed, holding that
• Nat'l Fed'n OF Retired Persons v. Dep't OF Ins.
  553 So. 2d 1289· Fla. 1st DCA· 1989-12-08 ·cited 8×
  The Department of Insurance's interpretation that NFRP's proposed activities constitute transacting insurance is permissible and affirmed.
• Dep't OF Revenue of the State of Fla. v. Skop
  383 So. 2d 678· Fla. 5th DCA· 1980-04-16 ·cited 8×
  The Florida Department of Revenue appealed a trial court determination that Metro News, a weekly publication distributed mostly for free, qualified as a tax-exempt newspaper under Florida law. The appellate court reversed, holding that Metro News was an advertising giveaway not e
• Shealyn McGovern v. Jacqulyn Clark
  298 So. 3d 1244· Fla. 5th DCA· 2020-06-11 ·cited 6×
  In a same-sex marriage dissolution case, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's dismissal of parental rights claims regarding two children born before the marriage. The court held that Florida's legitimation statute, section 742.091, does not require a biol
• Santiago v. Leon
  299 So. 3d 1114· Fla. 3d DCA· 2020-01-02 ·cited 6×
  The appellate court reversed a permanent stalking injunction against Luis Santiago, finding insufficient evidence that his actions met the statutory definition of stalking. The court emphasized that the conduct must be willful, malicious, and repeated, and directed at the specifi
• S.C. v. State
  224 So. 3d 249· Fla. 3d DCA· 2017-07-12 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the adjudication of delinquency for possessing stolen driver's licenses, as the defendant's confession and other circumstantial evidence demonstrated knowing possession of licenses taken without permission.