Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...permanent." Although this sentence can be separated and will be a complete act in itself, the second and third prongs of the test, relating to legislative intent, demonstrate that section 456.072(6) is not severable. In 1992, the legislature amended section 455.227, Florida Statutes (1992), by adding the provision at issue as section 455.227(4), Florida Statutes....

...n, obtains, or renews a license or certificate by bribery or fraudulent misrepresentation or through an error of the board or the department. Section 491.009(2)(q) authorizes disciplinary action for violations of chapter 455, including violations of section 455.227(1)(e), for "obtain[ing a license] by fraud or material misrepresentation of a material fact." [2] Although the Nebraska case was reduced to judgment in 1987, Chrysler stated he did not know about it until December 1991....

...We have carefully reviewed the record and find that appellants were subject to disciplinary action for the conduct alleged in the administrative complaint and that the findings of the hearing officer are supported by competent substantial evidence and are hereby approved. However, two points remain. While section 455.227(2), Florida Statutes (1981), authorizes a fine "in addition to or in lieu of any other discipline," that section is derived from chapter 79-35, section 5, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 1979, a date after the conduct which is the...

...er an informal hearing on February 11, 2005. By final order entered on April 4, 2005, the Board denied Elder’s application on the basis that (1) no material facts were in dispute and (2) Elder had been disciplined in the past, pursuant to sections 455.227(l)(f) and (2), Florida Statutes. Elder filed a timely notice of appeal of this order. Section 455.227 provides that an action against one’s license, including the acceptance of a relinquishment of licensure, shall constitute grounds for which the Board may refuse to certify an application for licensure. See § 455.227(l)(f) and (2), Fla....

position as the proper party plaintiff by citing section 455.-227(3), Florida Statutes (1979), which says in

...annot form a basis for the denial. With respect to the Licensing Board’s finding that Lapp aided and abetted other contractors in the unlicensed practice of contracting, there is no substantial, competent evidence to find that Lapp violated either section 455.227(l)(j) or section 489.129(l)(d) and (e)....

contrary to the public welfare and policy. Section 455.227(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides that disciplinary

...This is an appeal from an order holding that “Nancy Kelley Wittenberg, Secretary of the Department of Professional Regulation” was the proper party plaintiff in an action in which appellant was enjoined from doing acts constituting the practice of dentistry. The authority for bringing this action is section 455.227(3), Florida Statutes, which provides in part that “the department [the Department of Professional Regulation created by section 20.30, Fla.Stat....

...he business organization qualified by the licensee, relating to the practice of the licensee’s profession.” § 489.129(1)(r), Fla. Stat. (1993). 1 Chapter 455 sets forth general provisions governing the regulation of professions and occupations. Section 455.227, Florida Statutes (Supp.1994), provides grounds for discipline, penalties and enforcement. Section 455.227(2)(g) gives boards the general authority to require “corrective action” for a violation “of any grounds set forth in the applicable practice act[.]” § 455.227(2)(g), Fla....

...y construed. See generally Loeffler v. Florida Dep’t of Bus. & Prof. Reg., 739 So.2d 150, 152 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999); Haggerty v. Department of Bus. & Prof. Reg., 716 So.2d 873, 876 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). The ALJ recognized the applicability of section 455.227(2) as a general guideline but concluded that it must be tempered by the more restrictive language of the specific guidelines of section 489.129(1) that circumscribed the agency’s authority to impose penalties, relying upon Department of Envtl....

...2 The Department acknowledges that a subcontractor may not fall within the meaning of the word “consumer” and concedes that any reference to the word “restitution” in the final order may be stricken. However, the Department argues that in amending section 455.227 in 1994, the Legislature intended to remedy weaknesses within the specific practice acts and strengthen and expand the then-existing powers of all boards, including the Construction Industry Licensing Board....

...t the judgment be related to the practice of the licensee’s profession. As such, the Department maintains that the requirement that Jonas provide proof of satisfaction of the MACTEC judgment is specifically authorized corrective action pursuant to section 455.227(2)(g) to remedy his violation of section 489.129(1)(r)....

...The hearing officer found that Pariser and Fowler, appellees, were in violation of Rule 21E-12.08 and had standing to challenge the validity of the underscored portion of the rule. The specific authority cited for Rule 21E-12.08 as amended 12-19-82 is Section 455.227(2) and 489.129(2), Florida Statutes....

...Our rationale for affirming in this case is found in the maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius. This principle of statutory construction means “that the mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another,” Thayer v. State, 335 So.2d 815, 817 (Fla.1976). Section 455.227(2) provides, in pertinent part: In any case where the board imposes a civil penalty and the penalty is not paid within a reasonable time, such reasonable time to be prescribed in the rules of the board, the Department of Legal Affairs shall bring, upon request by the board, a civil action to recover the penalty....

...impose an administrative fine not to exceed $1,000 for each count or separate offense; and may issue a reprimand, and any or all of the foregoing, if it finds that the licensee, registrant, permittee, or applicant: (a) Has violated any provision of s. 455.227(1) or of s....

...ge or loss has been settled and paid after discovery of the misconduct; or that such victim or intended victim was a customer or a person in confidential relation with the licensee or was an identified member of the general public. (Emphasis added.) Section 455.2273, Florida Statutes (1997), provides: 1) Each board, or the department when there is no board, shall adopt, by rule, and periodically review the disciplinary guidelines applicable to each ground for disciplinary action which may be imp...

...(Emphasis added.) Arias maintains that the agency failed to comply with the legislative requirement that there be penalty guidelines in place, so as to alert licensees of proscribed actions and so as to ensure consistency in penalties imposed. We agree. Through section 455.2273, the legislature has acknowledged the importance and necessity of disciplinary guidelines....

...guidelines for enforcement, left the licensee in a predicament ripe for arbitrary and erratic enforcement, and obviously provided no standards sufficiently governed by the legislature as to constitute a judicially reviewable discretion. Considering section 455.2273, we agree with the licensee’s position that the legislature could not have intended section 475.25(l)(b) to be a carte blanche for the Commission to suspend real estate professionals license for the violation of any legal duty with...

...Webb, 367 So.2d 201 (Fla.1978), the supreme court held that “so long as the penalty imposed is within the permissible range of statutory law, the appellate court has no authority to review the penalty unless agency findings are in part reversed.” However section 455.2273 was created in 1986 and affects violations occurring after January 1,1987....

...The court stated that "any action by a real estate agent which in any way impedes, delays, or discourages on a racial basis a prospective home buyer from purchasing housing is unlawful.” Id. at 1047. (Footnotes deleted.) . The initial complaint against Arias also charged a violation of section 455.227, Florida Statutes (1995), however the Commission’s final order found a violation of section 475.25(l)(b), Florida Statutes (1995), alone.