EMAS, J.
Jason Bloch appeals from an order granting Marcia Del Rey's motion to dismiss Bloch's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as an order granting judgment on the pleadings in favor of Stand Up to Violence and Jorge Alberto Balleste on Bloch's claim for injunctive relief. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and dismiss in part.
Jason Bloch is an incumbent circuit court judge and was a retention candidate for the Circuit Court, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Group 9 judicial election held on August 30, 2016.
On August 10, 2016, more than three months after the qualifying date, only twenty days before election day, and only five days before the commencement of early voting in Miami-Dade County,
The three-count complaint sought (I) a declaration from the court that Del Rey was not constitutionally qualified to be a candidate for the office she was seeking; (II) an injunction removing Del Rey from the ballot for her failure to comply with the financial disclosure requirement and requiring the Secretary of State to declare Del Rey not qualified to be a candidate for circuit court judge and to notify voters of same, and to direct the Supervisor of Elections not to count any votes cast for her; and (III) an injunction prohibiting Stand Up to Violence and Balleste from continuing to expend funds by engaging in express advocacy in support of Del Rey.
On August 15, 2016, Bloch served the summons and complaint upon Del Rey, Stand Up to Violence and Balleste.
Stand Up to Violence and Balleste filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to Count III (injunctive relief), asserting that Stand Up to Violence was organized as a political committee, not an electioneering communications organization,
The trial court held a hearing on August 25 and 26, and thereafter, granted both motions. As to the motion to dismiss, the court determined that Bloch should have exhausted his administrative remedies with the Florida Commission on Ethics before seeking relief in the court and that he offered no valid reason for the extraordinary relief he sought in the court. The court further found that Del Ray had substantially complied with the financial disclosure requirements. As to the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by Stand Up to Violence and Balleste, the court found that Bloch had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies against those parties by not filing a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission.
This appeal followed and this court has granted Bloch's motion for expedited consideration.
We review de novo the trial court's orders on Bloch's claims for injunctive relief against Del Rey, Stand Up to Violence and Balleste. See Walker v. Figarola, 59 So.3d 188, 190 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011); Thompson v. Napotnik, 923 So.2d 537 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). As to the declaratory action, we ordinarily review an order dismissing such a claim under an abuse of discretion standard. See Acad. Express, LLC v. Broward Cty., 53 So.3d 1188 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011); Basik Exports & Imports, Inc. v. Preferred Nat. Ins. Co., 911 So.2d 291 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); Palumbo v. Moore, 777 So.2d 1177 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). However, to the extent that the dismissal is based upon a legal determination, our review is de novo. See, e.g., Angelo's Aggregate Materials, Ltd. v. Pasco Cnty., 118 So.3d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013).
We first address the order which entered judgment on the pleadings as to Count III in favor of Stand Up to Violence and Balleste. In that count, Bloch sought
Turning to the declaratory and injunctive relief claims filed by Bloch against Del Rey, we affirm the trial court's dismissal order and find Bloch's arguments are without merit, as Del Rey substantially complied with the statutory qualifying requirements set forth in section 105.031, Florida Statutes (2016).
As a preliminary matter, the issue before us involves compliance with the statutory requirements to qualify as a candidate for judicial office, rather than the constitutional requirements of eligibility to hold judicial office. See Burns v. Tondreau, 139 So.3d 481 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014) (discussing the separate and distinct differences between a candidate's constitutional eligibility for office and the statutory requirements to qualify to run for office). See also Norman v. Ambler, 46 So.3d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (same). And while the qualifying paperwork at issue in this case ("Form 6, Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests") was created by the Florida Commission on Ethics to implement the provisions of Art. 2, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution ("Ethics in Government")
Section 105.031 establishes the statutory requirements and deadlines for an individual to qualify as a candidate for judicial office. The statute mandates, inter alia, payment of a qualifying fee (or submission of a petition), and execution and submission of certain oaths and documents. For our purposes, the relevant provisions are found in subsections (5)(a)5, (5)(b), and (6) which provide:
Pursuant to the requirements of section 105.031, the Florida Commission on Ethics promulgated a form entitled "Form 6 Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests."
The Form 6 requires each candidate, inter alia, to:
a) List their net worth;
b) Describe each asset in excess of $1000 and state the value of each such asset;
c) Describe each liability in excess of $1000, listing the name and address of the creditor, and state the amount of each such liability;
d) Describe each primary source of income over $1000, listing the name and address of the source, and the amount of income received; and
e) Describe each secondary source of income, including the name of the business entity, the major source of that business' income, and the address and principal business activity of that source.
Upon our review of the Form 6 filed by Del Rey, we hold that the trial court properly determined that Del Rey substantially complied with the requirements of Form 6 and section 105.031. Del Rey's Form 6 set forth four sources of primary income and their individual amounts. Combined, these amounts totaled $210,500 in reported income.
Notably, a review of Del Rey's Form 6X also reveals that Del Rey's net worth, description and value of assets, description and amount of liabilities, and secondary sources of income remained unchanged from that reported in her original Form 6.
Bloch's arguments to the contrary notwithstanding, we conclude that the Form 6 was in substantial compliance with the qualifying requirements, and the revisions contained in the Form 6X do not establish that Del Rey failed to meet the requirements to qualify as a candidate for judicial
Affirmed in part and dismissed in part.