City of Miami v. Hagan, 235 So. 3d 977

Background

In 2013 Officer Larry Hagan was recommended for suspension (120 hours) by his commander for misconduct; he requested a Civil Service Board (CSB) hearing under the City of Miami ordinances.
The CSB held a hearing, found violations, and recommended the 120‑hour suspension; the City Manager affirmed the CSB’s factual findings but increased the discipline to termination and credited Hagan for time already served.
Hagan petitioned the circuit court’s appellate division (captioned as certiorari) arguing lack of notice of possible termination, double punishment, and insufficiency of competent substantial evidence supporting findings.
The appellate division sua sponte reversed, holding (1) the CSB lacked jurisdiction because it failed to hold the hearing within 30 days of the appeal and (2) the City Manager was required to hold a separate hearing before terminating Hagan; it ordered reinstatement with back pay.
The City sought second‑tier certiorari review in the district court, which granted relief, quashed the appellate division’s opinion, and remanded for reinstatement of the City Manager’s decision.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Hagan)	Defendant's Argument (City)	Held
Whether the Civil Service Board lost jurisdiction by not holding the hearing within 30 days	CSB was required to hold the hearing within 30 days; failure deprived CSB of jurisdiction	30‑day language requires scheduling/proceeding, not loss of jurisdiction; jurisdiction is not forfeited by delay	Court held CSB did not lose jurisdiction; 30‑day provision does not divest CSB of jurisdiction and appellate division departed from essential requirements of law
Whether the City Manager was required to hold a separate hearing before increasing discipline to termination	Hagan argued he had no notice he could be terminated and thus due process required a separate hearing	City argued City Manager may affirm, reverse, or modify CSB recommendation (including increasing to dismissal); no separate hearing required	Court held City Manager may modify discipline (including dismissal) on review of CSB findings; no separate hearing required
Whether the appellate division properly reviewed CSB factual findings versus City Manager’s determination	Hagan sought review of CSB findings and remedies for double punishment	City argued appellate division’s review should be of City Manager’s action; City Manager adopted CSB findings and reviewed recommendation	Court clarified appellate division reviews City Manager’s decision; where City Manager adopts CSB findings, review focuses on whether findings are supported by competent substantial evidence
Remedy for CSB’s scheduling delay	Hagan sought reinstatement and rescission due to delay	City argued scheduling delay does not justify reinstatement; remedy is to order board to hold hearing	Court held reinstatement is improper remedy for delay; circuit court may compel CSB to hold hearing instead

Key Cases Cited

Custer Med. Ctr. v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 62 So.3d 1086 (Fla. 2010) (standard for second‑tier certiorari: whether lower court departed from essential requirements of law)
City of Miami v. Reynolds, 34 So.3d 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (City Manager has discretion to determine appropriate penalty after CSB finding)
Miami‑Dade Cnty. v. Moreland, 879 So.2d 23 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) (appeal routes from local administrative action; review by appellate division)
Sterling Factors Corp. v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 968 So.2d 658 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007) (procedural defects before judgment do not render judgment void when tribunal has subject matter jurisdiction)
City of Hollywood v. Fielding, 362 So.2d 362 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978) (appropriate remedy for CSB failure to hold hearing is to seek order compelling hearing, not automatic reinstatement)
Faulk v. State, Dep't of Revenue, 157 So.3d 534 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) (jurisdictional questions subject to de novo review)
Dep't of Revenue v. Graczyk, 206 So.3d 157 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016) (subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time)