Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 329.10
S329.10 3 - FRAUD-FALSE STATEMENT - GIVE FALSE INFO REGARDING AIRCRAFT OWNER - F: T
S329.10 4 - FRAUD-FALSE STATEMENT - RE AIRCRAFT OWNER BY NON LEGAL ENTITY PERSON - F: T
CopyCited 8 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2036
...Two actions have been consolidated on appeal because in each the trial court declined to permit forfeiture of an aircraft on constitutional grounds. We affirm, but for a different reason. The premise of both complaints is that the possession or use of an aircraft in violation of section 329.10, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1984), [1] entitles a governmental entity to obtain forfeiture of that aircraft pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. [2] Both trial courts rejected this premise and found that section 329.10 which provides (in part) that it is a third-degree felony for a dissolved corporation to possess an aircraft is unconstitutional. The two courts struck section 329.10 on the grounds that (A) the statute runs afoul of the Supremacy Clause because Congress has preempted state regulation of the field through enactment of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, section 101 et seq., (current version at 49 U.S.C....
...2193, 2199,
68 L.Ed.2d 693 (1981); McKibben v. Mallory,
293 So.2d 48, 51 (Fla. 1974); Granados v. Miller,
369 So.2d 358, 360 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), appeal dismissed,
394 So.2d 1152 (Fla. 1981). The underlying premise of both cases, viz., that an aircraft used in violation of section
329.10 is subject to forfeiture under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, is erroneous....
...There, the court explained that under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act personal property becomes contraband and subject to forfeiture only if it is employed as an "instrumentality" in the commission of any felony. Alluding to an aircraft used in violation of section 329.10, the court said: The aircraft, however, is not the means or instrument by which the offense of possession of an improperly registered aircraft is committed....
...To qualify as an instrumentality, the [aircraft], which is not contraband per se, must have assisted in the commission of another, different felony. Possession of an improperly registered aircraft under the circumstances and conditions set forth in section 329.10 is a felony, but that status or state does not give rise to a different crime. Id. at 1383. We endorse the holding of our sister court that forfeiture is not an authorized sanction for violation of section 329.10. Accordingly, we affirm the trial courts' basic decision to deny forfeiture of the aircraft in the cases at bar. ANSTEAD, LETTS and HURLEY, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section 329.10, Florida Statutes (Supp....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 821
...tion Administration. Although the prior owner had registered the plane, he had not forwarded the papers to complete the transfer of registration to Damron. The City seized the plane, claiming Damron's possession of the unregistered aircraft violated section 329.10, Florida Statutes (1983), which makes the possession of an improperly registered aircraft a third degree felony....
...elf. To qualify as an instrumentality, the Cessna, which is not contraband per se, must have assisted in the commission of another, different felony. Possession of an improperly registered aircraft under the circumstances and conditions set forth in section 329.10 is a felony, but that status or state does not give rise to a different crime....
...We held that the truck in that case was being used as an instrumentality in the accomplishment of a different crime possession of a short-barreled shotgun and, therefore, it was subject to forfeiture pursuant to section
932.701(2)(e). AFFIRMED. ORFINGER and COWART, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] The parties conceded that section
329.10 had been violated, so we do not address that issue.
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 980, 1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 7464
...elf. To qualify as an instrumentality, the Cessna, which is not contraband per se, must have assisted in the commission of another, different felony. Possession of an improperly registered aircraft under the circumstances and conditions set forth in section 329.10 is a felony, but that status or state does not give rise to a different crime....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2374, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 4660, 1988 WL 109687
...olved corporation and entered a final judgment forfeiting the aircraft to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. According to the record, the aircraft was seized by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department on October 14,1986, as being in violation of section 329.10, Florida Statutes (1985), which requires that an aircraft maintain current registration with the Federal Aviation Administration....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 638, 1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 6756
...*645 To qualify as an instrumentality, the Cessna, which is not contraband per se, must have assisted in the commission of another, different felony. Possession of an improperly registered aircraft under the circumstances and conditions set forth in section 329.10 is a felony, but that status or state does not give rise to a different crime....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 904, 1992 WL 18544
GOSHORN, Chief Judge. The issue in this appeal is whether an airplane, owned by a Florida corporation which had previously been dissolved for failure to file its annual report, can be seized and forfeited pursuant to section 329.10, Florida Statutes (1989) after the corporation has been reinstated to active corporate status....
...As a result, the Secretary of State returned First Coast to active corporate status. Six months later, on November 25, 1989, the Volusia County Sheriff seized First Coast’s airplane. On January 30, 1990, Volusia County filed a petition seeking forfeiture of the airplane and alleged that First Coast violated section 329.10, Florida Statutes (1989) by operating the airplane within Volusia County on at least nine separate occasions during the period in which First Coast had been dissolved. Section 329.10, Florida Statutes (1989), provides in pertinent part that: (2) Any aircraft in or operated in this state that is found to be registered to a nonexistent person, firm, or corporation or to a firm, business, or corporation which is no longer a legal entity is in violation of this section....
...(b) Any violation of this section shall constitute the aircraft to which it relates as contraband, and said aircraft may be seized as contraband by a law enforcement agency and shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to ss.
932.701-932.704. First Coast contends that section
329.10 only permits seizure if the corporation is dissolved at the time the plane is seized. We agree. Forfeiture statutes are penal in nature and are strictly construed. Coleman v. Brandon,
426 So.2d 44 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). The plain language of section
329.10 permits a law enforcement agency to seize an airplane found registered to a dissolved corporation....
...HARRIS and PETERSON, JJ., concur. . Because the result of our analysis of the applicable statutory provisions disposes of this case, we do not address First Coast's remaining arguments. Specifically, we do not address First Coast’s contention that section 329.10, as applied, violated its constitutional due process rights....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
...Two actions have been consolidated on appeal because in each the trial court declined to permit forfeiture of an aircraft on constitutional grounds. We affirm, but for a different reason. The premise of both complaints is that the possession or use of an aircraft in violation of section 329.10, Florida Statutes (Supp.1984), 1 entitles a governmental entity to obtain forfeiture of that aircraft pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. 2 Both trial courts rejected this premise and found that section 329.10 — which provides (in part) that it is a third-degree felony for a dissolved corporation to possess an aircraft — is unconstitutional. The two courts struck section 329.10 on the grounds that (A) the statute runs afoul of the Supremacy Clause because Congress has preempted state regulation of the field through enactment of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, section 101 et seq., (current version at 49 U.S.C....
...2193, 2199 ,
68 L.Ed.2d 693 (1981); McKibben v. Mallory,
293 So.2d 48, 51 (Fla.1974); Granados v. Miller,
369 So.2d 358, 360 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), appeal dismissed,
394 So.2d 1152 (Fla. 1981). The underlying premise of both cases, viz., that an aircraft used in violation of section
329.10 is subject to forfeiture under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, is erroneous....
...There, the court explained that under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act personal property becomes contraband and subject to forfeiture only if it is employed as an “instrumentality” in the commission of any felony. Alluding to an aircraft used in violation of section 329.10, the court said: The aircraft, however, is not the means or instrument by which the offense of possession of an improperly registered aircraft is committed....
...To qualify as an instrumentality, the [aircraft], which is not contraband per se, must have assisted in the commission of another, different felony. Possession of an improperly registered aircraft under the circumstances and conditions set forth in section 329.10 is a felony, but that status or state does not give rise to a different crime. Id. at 1383 . We endorse the holding of our sister court that forfeiture is not an authorized sanction for violation of section 329.10. Accordingly, we affirm the trial courts’ basic decision to deny forfeiture of the aircraft in the cases at bar. ANSTEAD, LETTS and HURLEY, JJ., concur. . Section 329.10, Florida Statutes (Supp.1984), provides, in part, as follows: (1) It is unlawful for any person in this state to knowingly have in his possession an aircraft that is not registered in accordance with the regulations of the Federal Avia...
