STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

LAWRENCE MOREHOUSE, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 95-2718

) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, William F. Quattlebaum, held a formal hearing in the above-styled case on August 24, 1995, in Tampa, Florida. The Hearing Officer conducted the proceeding by videoconference.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Debra A. King, Esquire

University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, ADM 250

Tampa, Florida 33620

For Respondent: Lawrence Morehouse, pro se

2610 Drumwood Place

Valrico, Florida 33594 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether Lawrence Morehouse parked a vehicle in violation of campus parking regulations and should be fined.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By letter of May 5, 1995, the University of South Florida (USF) notified Lawrence Morehouse that final proceedings would be initiated to collect $188 allegedly owed as fines for six parking tickets issued to Mr. Morehouse between June, 1993 and June 1994. The letter advised Mr. Morehouse that he could request a hearing to contest the imposition of the fines. By letter of May 15, 1995, Mr. Morehouse requested a formal hearing.

At the hearing, USF presented the testimony of three witnesses and had one exhibit admitted into evidence. Mr. Morehouse testified on his own behalf.

No transcript of the hearing was filed. The Petitioner filed a proposed recommended order. The proposed findings of fact are ruled upon either directly or indirectly as reflected in this Recommended Order, and in the Appendix which is attached and hereby made a part of this Recommended Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Lawrence Morehouse is employed as a full time faculty member by the University of South Florida (USF).

   
   

2. At all times material to this case, parking of vehicles on the campus is regulated by USF authorities.

   
   

3. USF parking regulations are enforced by personnel of the USF Division of Parking Services from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. At all other times, USF parking regulations are enforced by campus police.

   
   

4. A campus parking regulation violation is documented by a handheld electronic ticketing device which records the information and prints a notice of the violation. The printed notice is left at the vehicle for the driver to discover.

   
   

5. A driver who believes a citation to be unfair may immediately bring the ticket to the counter clerk at the offices of the USF Division of Parking Services. The clerk is authorized to waive the fine if the individual circumstances of the case warrant waiver. The clerk records the waiver in the Division of Parking Services database. A written notice of the waiver is provided by the clerk upon the driver's request.

   
   

6. In addition to appeal via the counter clerk, an aggrieved driver may also meet with a University Parking Appeals Mediator to discuss the matter. The driver may also file a written appeal of the ticket.

   
   

7. If a driver remains unsatisfied after the matter is adjudicated by the mediator or by the committee which reviews written appeals, the driver may appeal the ticket to the USF Final Appeals Committee. The committee is made up of students, faculty and staff.

   
   

8. A late fee of $13 is added to each fine imposed if the ticket remains unpaid more than ten days after adjudication is final.

   
   

9. On June 14, 1993, Mr. Morehouse received a ticket for parking facing the direction of the traffic, a violation of campus parking restrictions. The fine for this violation is $10.

   
   

10. Mr. Morehouse asserts that he immediately spoke to the counter clerk about the June 14 ticket and the fine was waived. There is no documentation to support his assertion. The testimony is not persuasive.

    
    

11. On June 20, 1993, October 6, 1993, December 8, 1993, June 2, 1994 and June 7, 1994, notices of violation were provided to Mr. Morehouse for parking without a current university tag on his car.

    
    

12. Mr. Morehouse testified that on one of these occasions, he filed a written notice of appeal. Although a hearing was convened, Mr. Morehouse did not attend the hearing because of a scheduling conflict. He did not inform appeals committee members of the conflict or advised them that he would not attend the hearing.

    
    

13. There is no evidence that Mr. Morehouse made any attempt to appeal the four other tickets he received for parking without a current USF tag.

14. The six tickets remain unpaid. An additional $13 late fee has been imposed on each ticket.

    
    

15. Delinquency notices on all the tickets were sent to Mr. Morehouse. He made no apparent effort to respond to the notices.

    
    

16. Toward the end of 1994, the matter was referred by USF Parking Services division to the USF Division of Finance and Accounting collections manager.

    
    

17. The collections office issued monthly bills for the sum of the fines to Mr. Morehouse for approximately six months. There is no evidence that Mr. Morehouse responded to the billing.

    
    

18. At the close of the six month billing period, a certified letter was sent to Mr. Morehouse, stating that the amount could be deducted from his paycheck and advising of his right to a hearing. Mr. Morehouse requested a hearing.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

19. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to and subject matter of this proceeding. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

    
    

20. The Petitioner has the burden of establishing that the Respondent owes the sum and that payment is warranted. The burden has been met.

    
    

21. Mr. Morehouse received six notices for parking violations. The total sum owed, including late fees, is $188.

    
    

22. Mr. Morehouse's testimony, regarding two of the six tickets, is not credible and is rejected.

    
    

23. During the hearing, Mr. Morehouse also sought to challenge USF parking regulations as being unconstitutional. Mr. Morehouse asserted that the university had the authority to regulate parking solely for the protection of people or property, and that the cited violations are unrelated to the reasons the university may enact parking restrictions.

    
    

24. While the Hearing Officer is without authority to determine the constitutionality of the university's parking rules, Section 240.264, Florida Statutes, provides that a university may adopt parking regulations "which the university finds necessary, convenient, or advisable for the safety or welfare of the student, faculty members, or other persons." The grant of authority to the university to enact parking restrictions appears to be broader that the narrow rationale cited by Mr. Morehouse. There is no evidence that the USF parking regulations are outside the scope of the statutory authority provided to the university.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that the University of South Florida enter a Final Order deducting the lump sum of $188 from the next salary warrant issued to Lawrence Morehouse.

DONE and RECOMMENDED this 26th day of September, 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida.

WILLIAM F. QUATTLEBAUM

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 26th day of September, 1995.

APPENDIX TO RECOMMENDED ORDER, CASE NO. 95-2718

To comply with the requirements of Section 120.59(2), Florida Statutes, the following constitute rulings on proposed findings of facts submitted by the parties.

Petitioner

The Petitioner's proposed findings of fact are accepted as modified and incorporated in the Recommended Order.

Respondent

The Respondent did not file a Proposed Recommended Order.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Betty Castor, President Office of the President University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, ADM 241

Tampa, Florida 33620

Noreen Segrest, Esquire Acting General Counsel University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, ADM 250

Tampa, Florida 33620

Debra A. King, Esquire University of South Florida

4202 East Fowler Avenue, ADM 250

Tampa, Florida 33620

Lawrence Morehouse 2610 Drumwood Place

Valrico, Florida 33594

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions to this Recommended Order. All agencies allow each party at least ten days in which to submit written exceptions. Some agencies allow a larger period within which to submit written exceptions. You should contact the agency that will issue the Final Order in this case concerning agency rules on the deadline for filing exceptions to this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 95-002718

Orders for Case No: 95-002718