Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...the Florida Ethics Commission about the obligations of an HFA member who obtains a contract for services to be furnished in conjunction with a qualifying housing development. After Ellington was informed that the possession of such an interest violated Fla. Stat. § 159.606, Hasner submitted a letter stating that he 5 had resigned as an officer of Castle Florida on 10 February 1997 and that Castle Florida’s contract with Hawthorne had terminated. At the 2...

...pt of payment was improper. As a condition of the bond issuance, the attorneys were required to warrant that the matter being financed had been conducted in accordance with Florida law, including the conflict of interest provisions of Fla. Stat. § 159.606.2 Alligood and Sanford informed Ellington that they would withhold their approving opinions if Hasner’s payment was not repudiated. Alligood prepared a letter for Hasner’s signature, in which the real estate fee was disclaime...

...Ellington spoke with Hasner and informed him that “to fix the situation” Hasner should sign the letter disclaiming the interest in the $9,000 real estate fee and that Fisher would pay the fee to Hasner out of an unrelated project called Tierra Vista. 2 Florida Statute section 159.606 provides in relevant part: “No member or employee of a housing finance authority shall acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any qualifying housing development or in any property included or planned to be included in such a d...

...to address Defendants’ arguments that honest services charges could not be premised on the three state ethics statutes. The district court similarly did not err by refusing to instruct the jury on these statutes. Finally, because a showing that Hasner complied with Fla. Stat. § 159.606 was immaterial to the conclusion of whether Hasner intended to deprive the public of his honest services, the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to admit expert testimony interpreting Fla. Stat. § 159.606. Although defendants assert that government witnesses (lawyers for the bond deal) testified about Fla. Stat. § 159.606, the record reflects that these witnesses did so in the context of explaining why they refused to certify the bond issuance unless Hasner disavowed his interests in the Chelsea Commons project, including his referral fee....

...the Florida Ethics Commission about the obligations of an HFA member who obtains a contract for services to be furnished in conjunction with a qualifying housing development. After Ellington was informed that the possession of such an interest violated Fla. Stat. § 159.606, Hasner submitted a letter stating that he 2 About $13 million in bonds were ultimately issued. 5 had resigned as an officer of Castle Florida on 10 February 1997 and that Castle...

...concluded that Hasner’s receipt of payment was improper. As a condition of the bond issuance, the attorneys were required to warrant that the matter being financed had been conducted in accordance with Florida law, including the conflict of interest provisions of Fla. Stat. § 159.606.3 Alligood and Sanford informed Ellington that they would withhold their approving opinions if Hasner’s payment was not repudiated. Alligood prepared a letter for Hasner’s signature, in which the real estate fee was disclaimed and its inclusion in the closing statement deemed a mistake. 3 Florida Statute section 159.606 provides in relevant part: “No member or employee of a housing finance authority shall acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any qualifying housing development or in any property included or planned to be included in such a d...

Dear Mr. Miller: As General Counsel to the Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County, Florida, and at the request of a majority of the members of the authority, you have requested my opinion on the following question: Does section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, prohibit a person from being a member of a housing finance authority if the member's spouse is a partner in a law firm that provides legal services to the developers of one or more "qualifying housing developments" requesting financing from the authority? In sum: Section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, does not prohibit a person from being a member of a housing finance authority if the member's spouse is a partner in a law firm that provides legal services to the developers of one or more "qualifying housing developments" requesting financing from the authority....

...tween the board member's spouse and the developers of housing developments requesting financing from the housing finance authority could produce a conflict of interest for the board member by producing a "direct or indirect" interest in violation of section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, and if such an interest exists, whether the board member is then disqualified from holding office. Section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, describes conflicts of interest for members or employees of a housing finance authority and sets forth disclosure requirements: "No member or employee of a housing finance authority shall acquire any interest, dire...

...Failure so to disclose such interest shall constitute misconduct in office." Nothing in Part IV, Chapter 159 , Florida Statutes, defines or otherwise describes what may be meant by "direct or indirect" interests. I am aware of no court cases construing the provisions of section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, and the lone Attorney General Opinion construing the statute sheds no light on the question presented here....

...— that are controlled by the relevant ethics laws. 2 Additionally, as the Florida Supreme Court stated in City of Miami Beach v. Galbut , a 1993 nepotism case, 3 provisions of Florida's ethics code, like the conflict of interest provisions in section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, are penal in nature and any doubts relating to the meaning of such a statute must be resolved in favor of a narrow construction....

...ably or unnecessarily the recruitment and retention by government of those best qualified to serve." 5 This reasoning would appear to be equally applicable to conflict of interest provisions elsewhere in the Florida Statutes. Based on the failure of section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, to extend application of the conflicts of interest provision to specifically cover or include the spouse of a public officer, this office will not read such an extension into the statute....

...I cannot say that this language would have put a member of a housing finance authority on notice that his or her spouse's economic/professional pursuits would be limited by the member's service on a housing finance authority. 7 The plain language of section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, indicates that only members or employees of a housing finance authority are prohibited from acquiring "any interest, direct or indirect" in any qualifying housing development or having any interest in a contractual relationship to be used in connection with a qualifying housing development. 8 I believe that this result is consistent with the Ethics Commission's handling of comparable issues arising under Florida's Code of Ethics. In sum and in response to your question, it is my opinion that section 159.606 , Florida Statutes, does not prohibit a person from being a member of a housing finance authority if the member's spouse is a partner in a law firm that provides legal services to the developers of one or more "qualifying housing developments" requesting financing from the authority....