239 So. 2d 53 | Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 1970
Lead Opinion
This matter is before us on petition for a writ of certiorari to review the order and opinion of the Board of Business Regulations affirming the decision of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering allocating and fixing the racing dates for the four dog race tracks located in the greater Miami area, entered August 6, 1970. Briefs have been filed and oral arguments heard.
The four tracks involved in this proceeding shall be referred to as: “Biscayne”, “Flagler”, “Hollywood” and “Miami Beach”. “Hollywood” is located about a mile and a half outside of Dade County, over in Broward County, but within approximately nine miles of the nearest track in Dade County.
Pursuant to statute each of the four tracks timely applied to the Division for the allocation to each of the tracks of the days of racing to be granted each said track for the 1970-71 season, which begins September 3, 1970. Hollywood and Miami Beach each designated the dates it desired, but added the request that the dates for the four tracks be so allocated that each track would run 52 days opposed by one of the other three tracks and 52 days unopposed by either of the other three tracks, and suggested that this 52-52 plan be made a regular method of allocation for the future, with rotation between the tracks so as to be fair to each.
Biscayne requested certain days with the added request that the same was for non-competitive greyhound dates. Flag-ler requested its days and dates without mention of competitive or non-competitive.
Hearings were held, pursuant to notice, by the Division, at which each of the parties were permitted to submit sworn testimony evidence and argument of counsel in support of their respective requests. Thereafter, the Division allocated and awarded the following dates to the four tracks based on a 52-52 plan, to wit:
“Track Dates Opposed or Days Unopposed
Miami Beach 9-3-70 thru 11-3-70 52 Unopposed
7-5-71 thru 9-2-71 (18 matinees) 52 Opposed by Flagler
Hollywood 11-4-70 thru 1-2-71 52 Unopposed
1-4-71 thru 3-4-71 (18 matinees) 52 Opposed by Biscayne
Biscayne 1-4-71 thru 3-4-71 52 Opposed by Hollywood
3-5-71 thru 5-4-71 (10 matinees) 52 Unopposed
Flagler 5-5-71 thru 7-3-71 52 Unopposed
7-5-71 thru 9-2-71 (50 matinees)” 52 Opposed by Miami Beach
The prayer of the petitioner contains several alternatives which may be briefly summarized by saying that Biscayne wants the order of the Board affirming the decision of the Division set aside, as well as the decision of the Division allocating the dates, and for this court to either set new dates or direct the Board or Division to do so, or for the Board to reinstate the appeal of petitioner and Flagler and hold de novo hearings for the purpose of allocating new dates using as the prime factor for such allocation the tax revenue to the State of Florida.
Flagler has heretofore filed in this court its petition for a writ of mandamus and for a writ of prohibition in which the same bone of contention was raised. By order of this court handed down simultaneously with this opinion, we have denied Flagler’s petition.
The petitioner has raised for consideration three points involved, which we believe can be restated in the following language: (1) Whether the Board was legally correct in determining to sit strictly as an appellate review body, basing its decision exclusively on the record compiled before the Division, and (2) Whether the Division was in error in taking into consideration the Hollywood track in apportioning the dates among the three Dade county tracks, and (3) Whether it was lawful for the Division to use the 52-52 plan, which included Hollywood.
Under F.S. § 20.16, F.S.A., there is created a department of business regulation. The head of the department of business regulation is the Board of Business Regulation composed of five members. The department is divided into several divisions, one of which is the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. Under the governmental reorganization as provided in F.S. Chapter 20, F.S.A., the transfer of the former State Racing Commission to the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, a division of the Board of Business Regulation, is designated as a type one transfer, F.S. § 20.06(1), F.S.A. wherein it is provided that such agency shall henceforth “exercise its powers, duties, and functions as prescribed by law, subject to review and approval by, and under the direct supervision of, the head of the department.”
We cannot read into the language of the statute quoted supra, the right, the duty or the authority for the Board, as “the head of the department” to completely usurp and assume the full powers and functions of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. The right to review is given. The power to fix rules and regulations governing the Division are also vested in the Board by such statute (F.S. § 20.05(1), F.S.A.).
Under the applicable statute the Board was legally correct in determining that it would sit as a reviewing body reviewing the record of the proceedings had before the Division. We also are of the opinion, and so hold, that the Board did not abuse its authority in determining that the evidence adduced before the Division, as shown by the record on appeal to it, was competent and sufficient to support the decision of the Division, although the same contained some conflict. The
We next come to point two: Whether the Division was in error in taking into consideration Hollywood in apportioning the dates for the three Dade County tracks.
The petitioner argues in its brief that the 52-52 plan “foisted” upon the State of Florida in 1969 and again in 1970 has caused and will continue to cause a loss of tax revenue to the State; that it will deprive the residents of Dade County and its visitors an opportunity to attend a dog track in their community during a substantial portion of each year. As to the loss of tax revenue, it has been shown that at the 1969 hearing on allocation of dates, at which the 52-52 plan was originally adopted, Flagler offered as evidence some projections and prognostications as to how much the pari-mutuel play and tax revenue would be if the dates requested by Biscayne and Flagler were awarded to them, as opposed to the loss to be suffered under the 52-52 plan. At the date of the 1970 hearing, the fallacy of the 1969 projections as to revenue as well as to total play was exploded when it was shown by the records of the Division that there had been an increase in play and tax revenue under the 52-52 plan of many millions of dollars above that originally projected even for Flagler and Biscayne. This same argument by the same party, a partner in Flagler, with like projections, was offered to the Division at its hearings on the 1970 date application, but was rejected by the Division as not being competent controlling evidence in rendering its decision allocating the dates.
The petitioner also raises as a statutory prohibition against the action of the Division, the provisions of F.S. § 550.02(1), F.S.A. which reads as follows:
“(1) Fix and set the dates for racing in any county where there are one or more horse tracks or one or more dog tracks seeking to race and holding ratified permits upon which any track can operate in any county, apportioning such dates to the several tracks in such counties as provided by law; provided, however, that where only one licensed dog track is located in a county, such track may operate ninety days during the racing season at the option of said dog track; * * * ”
This Act was passed in 1931, at which time the racing season was fixed as being limited to run from December 1 each year to April 10 of each following year. Over the years, new or additional statutes have been passed by the Legislature so that now we have authorized racing during the entire calendar year. Most of the later statutes do not carry repealing clauses as to the older statutes, and some even state that such statutes are supplemental or cumulative. F.S. § 550.083, F.S.A., passed in 1961, and amended in 1969, now provides for granting permits to race at any time the holder chooses within the fiscal year, “for the aggregate number of racing days fixed and permitted by law and subject to the approval of the state racing commission. * * * ”
Again in 1965, the Legislature passed what is now F.S. § 550.291, F.S.A., which authorizes the state racing commission to annually allocate to the owners of valid outstanding permits — for greyhound racing, not less than 90 days and not more than the number of days allocated or permitted jai alai permittees, plus scholarship and charity days. There does not appear to be any particular restrictions imposed upon the racing commission, which is now the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. A large number of cases are cited by petitioner in support of its contention and especially in support of the proposition that the Division cannot legally al
The decisions cited by petitioner were rendered prior to the statutory changes as shown in F.S. §§ 550.291 and 550.083, F.S.A., and therefore of no persuasive value. The latest case in which this question arose, also involving the 52-52 plan was State of Florida ex rel. Investment Corporation of South Florida v. Board of Business Regulation of the State of Florida et al., 227 So.2d 674 (Fla.1969). In this case, the Division had allocated racing dates to the four tracks involved here, for the 1969-1970 season in which allocation was made to Hollywood, also, under the plan now known as the 52-52 plan. Biscayne and Flagler appealed the decision of the Division to the Board of Business Regulation, but did not make Hollywood a party to such appeal. The Board reversed the decision of the Division and fixed new dates for Biscayne and Flagler, giving them the choice dates, unopposed by either of the other dog tracks and gave Hollywood and Miami Beach new dates, racing in competition or opposition to each other. Hollywood filed an original petition in mandamus in the Supreme Court of Florida seeking to compel the Board of Business Regulation to cancel its order revoking the allotted racing dates set by the Division for Hollywood. The Department (the Board) argued in said case that the public and racing industry would be best served if the racing dates were changed. The court said, however, that in passing, “there was a lack of competent or admissible evidence in the record to sustain the argument or to show any loss of revenue to the state. This argument is based upon the hearsay speculation of an interested attorney representing one of the parties.” We point out here that the same type of evidence i.e. projection — was offered to the Division and was before the Board in the record on appeal. The Supreme Court then held that because Hollywood had an organic property right of which it was being deprived without due process, and being an indispensable party to the appeal, the Department could not assume jurisdiction over the matter in controversy in the absence of such indispensable party, citing 39 Am.Jur. Parties p. 5. The Court did not, however, stop with holding the order of the Department reversing the Division and fixing new dates ineffective, but ordered the State Racing Commission, also known as the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, to instanter issue to Hollywood its license to race “non-competitively” in accordance with the dates awarded by the Racing Commission originally, and to fully reinstate the action of the Racing Commission in awarding of the racing dates for the 1969-70 racing season. The court had before it for consideration the 52-52 plan or formula and by its action in issuing the writ in mandamus necessarily had to find that said plan which included Hollywood along with the three Dade County tracks was not an illegal exercise of the authority or discretion of the Racing Commission. Therefore, this latest expression of our Supreme Court seems to dispel any merit to petitioner’s contention that to consider Hollywood with the other tracks by the Division was error. We are aware that other decisions have dealt with and considered the “area” as distinguished from the “county unit”, in fixing dates and regulations for the four tracks in what has been termed by the Supreme Court as the “greater Miami area.” Therefore we cannot find any basis for the relief prayed for by the petitioner under this portion of its complaint as set forth in its petition and expounded in its brief.
The third point raised is the right of the Division to use the 52-52 plan under which it is argued that the Statute directing the Racing Commission, now the Division, to fix and apportion dates to the
In the case sub judice, we have held supra, that under the provisions of F.S. Chapter 20, F.S.A. the Board of Business Regulation was legally authorized to sit as a reviewing body in an appellate procedure such as was enlisted here, and that the acts of the Division were subject to review and approval by the Board (F.S. § 20.16(5) F.S.A.). In this case the Board made a determination that the Division’s decision in fixing the dates for racing was supported by competent evidence.
Under the original statute creating the State Racing Commission in 1931, very little flexibility in the authority of the Commission or in the privileges of the tracks was afforded. It is apparent that in the original enactment of F.S. Chapter 550, F.S.A., the Legislature was somewhat skeptical of the ultimate outcome of this bold new venture — that of legalizing parimutuel gambling in the State, and therefore attempted to remove any chance abuses by definitely fixing the rights and duties of the Commission. As the fear of any serious disastrous results arising from this industry subsided, the Legislature became less skeptical and, by a series of acts, purporting in some instance to be amendments and in more instances as novel additions to Chapter 550, there was a general relaxing of the rigid straitjacket in which the Racing Commission was placed originally, and by force of necessity for the Commission to be able to comply with the later amendments to Chapter 550, especially with reference to the allocation of racing dates, the Commission became possessed of discretionary powers, to be used, subject to review as provided by law. When the State Racing Commission, under the governmental reorganization became the Division of PariMutuel Wagering of the Department of Business Regulations, these discretionary powers, duties and functions were carried with the transfer, with the further provision however, of being subject to review and approval by the Board.
The Supreme Court of Florida has recognized that the State Racing Commission was exercising discretionary powers in allocating racing dates, in the case of State ex rel. West Flagler Kennel Club v. Florida State Racing Commission, 74 So.2d 691 (Fla.1954) wherein the Court said:
“The ultimate question raised by the pleadings is whether or not the State Racing Commission abused its discretion in allocating racing dates to the dog tracks in Dade County.”
In this same case, the Supreme Court detailed the factors to be taken into consideration, by the Racing Commission in allocating and fixing the racing dates, which are directly related to the exercise of their discretion therein, when it said:
“ * * * but considered in the light of all the factors that respondents were required to consider in fixing racing dates, that is to say the interest of the track owner, the interest of the State, the good will, the quality of dogs, track facilities, geography, skill in management, and others, the results reveal nothing to show discrimination.”
The last case cited, supra, was in a mandamus proceeding, but the enunciation of the law as applied to facts of that case, is applicable to the facts of this case, although this proceeding is in petition for certiorari to review the order complained of. The language used by the court in said case was that the “relator has failed to show any discrimination or that fairness and impartiality were not observed by respondents when they apportioned racing dates. * * * ” The court further stated as to the 1947 amendment to F.S. section 550.02(1), F.S.A., being Chapter 24348, Acts of 1947,
*59 “ * * * We do not hold that the latter amendment had the effect of removing the requirement that racing dates be fixed in a fair and impartial manner but we do hold that it enlarged the discretion of the State Racing Commission and authorized it to consider not only the interest of those operating race tracks, but the interest of the State as well when it fixed racing dates. * * * ” (Emphasis added.)
So, 'we find ourselves in this case confronted with a discretionary function of the Division, in which the Board sitting in review thereof finds and determines that there was sufficient competent evidence before the Division to support its decision therein; and confronted with a petition for review by this court of the action of the Board and the Division. We have answered hereinabove in what we think is a proper disposition of those questions listed as one and two, and now we must determine from the record before us, which contains the entire proceedings before the Division and the Board, whether there has been an abuse of discretion by the Division in fixing and allocating racing dates, and whether the action of the Division and the appellate action of the Board met all the essential requirements of law to sustain the action and support the order under review.
In State ex rel. West Flagler Kennel Club v. Florida State Racing Commission, supra, the court was dealing with the same four race tracks involved in the case sub judice. In that case the court pointed out that the dates allocated were not too different from former dates, and that although competitive, there had been a consistent increase in both pari-mutuel play and state revenue, although a difference in increases as between tracks. We have almost the identical set of facts in this case as shown from the record and as said by the Supreme Court in the West Flagler case, supra, we feel and so hold that the record, the pleadings and briefs not only fail to show any discrimination against the petitioner, but conclusively shows that the Division did not commit an abuse of its discretion in allocating the dates under the 52-52 plan, and that the Board exercised its proper authority and jurisdiction in entering its order affirming the decision of the Division. The petition should therefore be denied.
West Flagler has filed its brief as a respondent in this case. It complains of the same thing that Biscayne does — i.e. that the action of the Division and of the Board should be set aside or reversed, but in the brief filed here, Flagler insists that the proper remedy was by mandamus or prohibition, as claimed by it in its petition filed in this court as case number 0-22, 238 So.2d 677. It further states, however, that if this court should hold that its mandamus or prohibition were not proper, the same relief requested by Biscayne should be granted Flagler based upon the merits which are the same in both cases.
We think the case of DeGroot v. Sheffield, 95 So.2d 912 (Fla.1957) is applicable to refute Flagler’s contention that certiorari is not the proper remedy. In that case the court said:
“ * * * certiorari is a discretionary writ bringing up for review by an appellate court the record of an inferior tribunal or agency in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding. The writ is available to obtain review in such situations when no other method of appeal is available. (Citation). In certiorari the reviewing court will not undertake to reweigh or evaluate the evidence presented before the tribunal or agency whose order is under examination. The appellate court merely examines the record made below to determine whether the lower tribunal had before it competent substantial evidence to support its findings and judgment which also must accord with the essential requirements of the law. It is clear that cer-tiorari is in the nature of an appellate*60 process. It is a method of obtaining review, as contrasted to a collateral assault” (Emphasis added).
Also cited by Flagler in its brief is West Flagler Amusement Co. v. State Racing Commission, 122 Fla. 227, 165 So. 64 (1935) as authority for the proposition that the acts of the Racing Commission are devoid of any judicial attributes and therefore certiorari is not an available remedy. This case was decided in 1935 and as pointed out by the court in later cases, the changes in the statute have resulted in changes in the powers, duties and functions of the Racing Commission.
It is further contended in Flagler’s brief that the Board misconceived its scope of review and thereby failed to accord the appellants, Biscayne and Flagler, the essential requirements of law. Also it raises the same contention that the Division could not allocate racing dates on a two-county basis. We think we have adequately answered these questions adversely to Flagler’s contentions by this opinion supra, and therefore hold that Flagler is in the same posture as Biscayne and that neither is entitled to the relief sought.
The petition is therefore dismissed.
. Our Case No. O-22-State of Florida, on the relation of West Flagler Associates, Ltd., etc. v. Board of Business Regulation of the State of Florida et al., Fla.App., 238 So.2d 677.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting):
I respectfully dissent from the opinion of the court’s majority.
The conclusion of the court that the order of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering and subsequent order of the Board of Business Regulation are reviewable by petition for certiorari is contrary to the holding of the Florida Supreme Court in West Flagler Amusement Company, Inc. v. State Racing Commission et al., 122 Fla. 227, 165 So. 64 (1935). That case was a certiorari proceeding seeking to have quashed an order of the State Racing Commission relating to the apportionment of dog racing dates in Dade County between Flagler, Biscayne and the beach tracks. At the same time said certiorari proceeding was before the court, there was also pending in that court a mandamus proceeding on relation of West Flagler Amusement Company, Inc. seeking the same relief as had been asked for in the certiorari proceeding. The court quashed the certiorari proceeding because it was not an appropriate method for reviewing an order apportioning racing dates among dog tracks, stating at page 66:
“A bare inspection of paragraph (1) of section 2 of chapter 17276, Acts 1935, supports the contention of the respondent state racing commission in this case that the statutory powers thereby vested and authoriaed to be exercised by the commission are wholly devoid of any judicial attributes or quality, procedural in nature, or otherwise; therefore, certiorari is not an available remedy to attack an order of the commission purporting to have been made solely under authority of that paragraph and section of the 1935 statute. The writ of certiorari is accordingly quashed and the proceeding dismissed without prejudice to the maintenance of petitioner’s mandamus proceeding now pending in this court and involving the same identical controversy comprehended in the instant case.”
The majority opinion acknowledges the court’s holding in West Flagler Amusement Co., Inc., supra, but holds that said decision is no longer controlling because of the subsequent amendments to the statute which have changed the powers, duties and functions of the Racing Commission. In my view, the amendments have not changed the nonjudicial character of an order apportioning racing dates which led the Supreme Court to hold that such orders were not reviewable by certiorari. Such an order is, I believe, quasi-executive or quasi-legislative in character and should be reviewed by mandamus.
“§ 550.083(1) Owners of valid outstanding permits for dog racing in this state may hold race meetings at any time they choose during the calendar year for the aggregate number of racing days fixed and permitted by law and subject to the approval of the state racing commission; * * * >»
While the cited statute provides that the choice of racing dates shall be subject to the approval of the Commission, I do not believe that such approval can be withheld by the Commission in absence of a showing that the dates chosen will have a detrimental effect upon the racing industry or, more importantly, an impairment of the State’s revenue from pari-mutuel wagering. It is clear from the record before the court that the apportionment of dates made by the Commission had as its principal ingredient the desire and intent to shift the wagering action to the Hollywood track during the height of the winter season by affording a minimum of competition from the three Dade tracks during that period. I doubt that the Legislature intended the Commission to apportion dates under any system which departs from the so-called county unit system. In departing from that longstanding method, the Commission arbitrarily and without statutory authority violated the legislative mandate as found in Section 550.02(1) that it “(1) Fix and set the dates for racing in any county where there are * * * one or more dog tracks * * * apportioning such dates to the several tracks in such counties, as provided by law; * *
The respondents herein argue, and the majority of the court holds, that the legality of the Commission’s method of apportionment of dates received the approval of the Supreme Court in State ex rel. Inv. Corp. of South Florida v. Board of Business Regulation, 227 So.2d 674. It is difficult for me to agree that anything the court said about the 52-52 plan is entitled to a higher dignity as precedent than the most obvious form of obiter dicta. The court quashed the Board’s order reversing the Division’s allocation of dates because the petitioner there had not been made a party to the proceedings in which the Board reversed the Division’s allocative order. In brief, the court held the Board had no jurisdiction to reverse the Division.
There is yet another and perhaps more compelling reason why the order of allocating dates among the tracks should be reversed. There can now be no question that the principal interest which the State has in pari-mutuel wagering centers upon the revenue gained by the State from the operation of the various tracks. I do not say that revenue is the sole and exclusive factor to be considered. Nonetheless it is a principal and substantial factor. In State ex rel. Hollywood Jockey Club v. Stein, 129 Fla. 777, 176 So. 849 (1937), the court commenting upon the nature of the Commission’s duty in fixing racing dates stated:
“ * * * It is the duty of the commission to look to the interest of the state, which receives revenue for the operation of the track, and to the interests of the permit holder, who proposes to operate the track for profit.”
The State’s interest in the revenue producing facet of this activity was also considered by the court in State v. Florida State Racing Commission, 70 So.2d 375
The petitioner in this case, Biscayne, as well as the petitioner in the companion mandamus action, Flagler, has submitted figures both by way of testimony before the Division and exhibits tendered to the Board during the course of arguments before it which they claim demonstrate that the allocation of dates made by the Division has resulted in a reduction of state revenue because of a lower total of funds wagered in the Dade County tracks. The majority of the court accepts the contention of the respondents that the figures submitted in support of such proof are conjectural and speculative and thus not worthy of consideration. That the figures submitted by the petitioners are self-serving does not necessarily make them unworthy of belief, although they certainly should be looked upon in light of the source.
However, it seems to me that it is unnecessary to rely upon the figures advanced by petitioners in these cases in order to conclude that the state coffers are paying a high price indeed for the innovative allocation of dates made by the Division. We need only to look at the exhibits submitted by the respondents, Board of Business Regulation and Miami Beach Kennel Qub, to find support for the thesis of petitioners concerning the reduced handle resulting from the 52-52 plan. The figures submitted by the beach track are statistically similar to those provided by the Board, but the former are more convenient for analytical purposes so I refer to those. During the 1968-69 dog racing season, the three Dade County dog tracks handled $130,456,888.00 in pari-mutuel wagering. The same three tracks in the 1969-70 fiscal year operating under the 52-52 plan did $135,337,644.00, an increase of some $4,800,-000.00 or 3.6 percent over the previous year. At the same time, the figures of the respondents show that the thirteen dog tracks outside the Dade-Broward area increased their total handle by 14.65 percent. Significantly, during this period the Hollywood track experienced a 35 percent increase in its handle. Contrary to the views of the respondents, one need not speculate to conclude that the minute increase in business done by the three Dade tracks has failed to keep pace with the increase in the rest of the State to the detriment of state revenues. The tracks not affected by the 52-52 plan racked up a percentage increase five times that of the three Dade tracks. And, not insignificantly, the Hollywood track with its 35 percent increase over the previous year outperformed the three Dade tracks by a ten to one percentage increase.
Even though the three tracks in Dade showed a slight increase over the previous year, if such figures were adjusted to reflect that some $10,000,000.00 of the handle in the three Dade tracks during the 1969-70 season is attributable to the fact that they ran 52 more matinee sessions than in the preceding year, the net result would be that the three Dade tracks did $5,000,000.00 less business than the preceding year when the three Dade tracks were permitted to choose their own dates of operation without interference by the Division.
It seems inescapable to me that the Division’s resort to the 52-52 plan inures to the benefit of the Hollywood track only at the expense of the three Dade tracks. Because it totally disregards the revenue raising ability of the three Dade tracks, the 52-52 plan is arbitrary and predicated upon factors other than law, thus rendering the Division’s discretion abusive.
I would quash the order allocating dates being reviewed herein and require the Division to approve operating dates for each of the three tracks in Dade County in accordance with the dates chosen by each of such tracks in their respective applications.