Filed: Jul. 29, 2015
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida Opinion filed July 29, 2015. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. _ No. 3D14-1762 Lower Tribunal No. 13-38696 _ Key Biscayne Gateway Partners, LTD, Appellant, vs. Village of Key Biscayne and Village Council for the Village of Key Biscayne, Appellees. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Jerald Bagley, Judge. Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A., and Michael A. Winkleman, for appellant. Weiss Se
Summary: Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida Opinion filed July 29, 2015. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. _ No. 3D14-1762 Lower Tribunal No. 13-38696 _ Key Biscayne Gateway Partners, LTD, Appellant, vs. Village of Key Biscayne and Village Council for the Village of Key Biscayne, Appellees. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Jerald Bagley, Judge. Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A., and Michael A. Winkleman, for appellant. Weiss Ser..
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Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed July 29, 2015.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D14-1762
Lower Tribunal No. 13-38696
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Key Biscayne Gateway Partners, LTD,
Appellant,
vs.
Village of Key Biscayne and Village Council for the Village of Key
Biscayne,
Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Jerald Bagley,
Judge.
Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A., and Michael A. Winkleman,
for appellant.
Weiss Serota Helfman Cole Bierman & Popok, P.L., and Laura K. Wendell
and John J. Quick, for appellees.
Before SALTER, LOGUE, and SCALES, JJ.
LOGUE, J.
Key Biscayne Gateway Partners, Inc., seeks review of the trial court’s order
dismissing its amended complaint, which sought a writ of mandamus directing the
Council and Village of Key Biscayne to approve a proposed site plan. The
complaint for the writ of mandamus was based upon allegations of misconduct by
the Council and Village.
Mandamus, of course, will lie only to command the performance of a
ministerial act. Town of Manalapan v. Rechler,
674 So. 2d 789, 790 (Fla. 4th
DCA 1996) (“Mandamus is defined as a remedy to command performance of a
ministerial act that the person deprived has a right to demand, or a remedy where
public officials or agencies may be coerced to perform ministerial duties that they
have a clear legal duty to perform.”). Under the applicable ordinance, the Village
approves a site plan by vote of its council after a quasi-judicial public hearing
concerning whether certain criteria are met. In these circumstances, mandamus will
not lie because the Village’s decision to approve the site plan involves quasi-
judicial fact finding and quasi-judicial discretion. See
id. (“A duty or act is defined
as ministerial when there is no room for the exercise of discretion, and the
performance being required is directed by law.”).
Accordingly, we affirm the order of dismissal. In doing so, we do not reach
and do not decide any issues relating to the alleged misconduct of the Council and
the Village.
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Affirmed.
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