CopyCited 15 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 9266, 2015 WL 3759702
...appropriated by unauthorized persons. She alleged that she and her
daughter were within the class of persons protected by the Act.
The count for declaratory relief alleged that “a controversy exists as to
the proper interpretation of the Act, specifically the provision in §
717.1341(1), Fla....
...and this information
was provided by “the decedent’s own father, . . . who would presumably
know whether or not his son was married.” Appellee also received
information from other relatives. The court further rejected appellant’s
claim that section 717.1341(1), Florida Statutes, created strict liability of
appellee for the funds disbursed to the stepdaughter, because the statute
provided for recovery by the Department, not a private person....
...The court
reviewed various provisions of the Act referencing the Department’s
powers of enforcement, and concluded that the statute did not create a
private cause of action.
In moving for rehearing, appellee argued she was not contending that
section 717.1341, Florida Statutes, “creates a cause of action,” but rather
that “the statute is a basis for determining the standard of conduct[.]” The
court denied rehearing, and appellant filed this appeal.
The appellant contends that...
...1973).
Some examples are the “dog bite” statutes, statutes forbidding the sale of
guns to minors, and child labor acts. See Thomas D. Sawaya, 6 Fla. Prac.,
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Actions § 24:11 (2014-15 ed.); Amy G.
Gore, 38 Fla. Jur. 2d Negligence § 93 (2015 ed.).
Section 717.1341, Florida Statutes, which the appellant contends
imposes strict liability on appellee, provides:
(1)(a) No person shall receive unclaimed property that the person
is not entitled to receive....
...nother person in receiving, or
attempting to receive, unclaimed property that the person is not
entitled to receive; or
(c) Against a person who attempts to receive unclaimed property
that the person is not entitled to receive.
§ 717.1341, Fla....
...legislative enactments.”).
We are not required to adopt the strict liability standard of conduct in
this case, because the legislature actually declared that the statute was
not intended to be the basis of a private cause of action. The enacting
legislation for section 717.1341, Section 166 of Chapter 04-390, Laws of
5
Florida, provides: “Nothing in this act shall be construed to create or be the
basis of a civil action.” (Emphasis supplied).
Furthermore, al...
...interests by doing their due diligence and filing their own claims with the
Department.
The fact that such claimants can generally protect themselves, as well
as the Legislature’s indication that it did not intend this Act to create a
private cause of action, convince us that section 717.1341 does not impose
strict liability on the appellee in this common law negligence action....
...Maas,
811 So. 2d 644, 657-58 (Fla. 2012) (quoting Martinez v.
Scanlan,
582 So. 2d 1167, 1170-71 (Fla. 1991)) (emphasis added; original
emphasis omitted). Appellant is not entitled to the return of the money,
which must be sought by the Department. See §
717.1341(1)(a), Fla....
...rather than her own rights. The Department is not required to bring an
action against appellee under this statute to recover the money; the
subsection provides only that the Department “may maintain a civil or
administrative action” against him. § 717.1341(2), Fla. Stat. (2013).
Appellant can file a claim with the Department for return of the money in
order to prompt use of section 717.1341(2) by the Department to obtain
monies from appellee....
...69I-20.0022 (Proof of Ownership and
Entitlement to Unclaimed Property). Under these circumstances,
appellant has failed to show that she has standing to bring a declaratory
judgment action seeking to make appellee liable to return funds for which
he may be strictly liable under section 717.1341(1), Florida Statutes.
The final judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
GROSS and FORST, JJ., concur.
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Not final until disposition of ti...
