Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...sonably necessary for the furtherance of the investigation. See § 760.06(5)-(6). Furthermore, the Legislature's desire that aggrieved persons avail themselves of the remedies provided by the Commission prior to seeking court action is made clear in section 760.07....

...The district court held that the FCRA’s narrow definition of “public accommodation” does not apply to MRN, and that Sheely may not “import” § 413.08’s broader definition of “public accommodation” into the FCRA. We agree. Section 760.07 of the FCRA provides that “[a]ny violation of any Florida statute making unlawful discrimination because of ....

...damages described in § 760.11(5), unless greater damages are expressly provided 57 for.” Section 760.02(11) provides that “[f]or the purposes of §§ 760.01-760.11 and 509.092” -- i.e., for purposes of § 760.07 -- “Public accommodations” means places of public accommodation, lodgings, facilities principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, gasoline stations, places of exhibition or entertainment, and other covered establishments....

...all areas of a public accommodation that the public or customers are normally permitted to occupy,” id. § 413.08(3), and defines “public accommodation” broadly to include “places to which the general public is invited,” id. § 413.08(1)(c). Although § 760.07 of the FCRA provides a private right of action for “any Florida statute” making discrimination in places of public accommodation 58 unlawful, § 760.02 of the FCRA expressly states that its narrow definition of “public accommodation” applies to § 760.07. Sheely therefore may not import § 413.08’s broader definition of “public accommodation” into the FCRA. As the district court noted, this conclusion does not gut § 760.07. If MRN were a lodging, food, or entertainment establishment, § 760.07 would provide a private right of action for a violation of § 413.08. Moreover, Sheely has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies under the FCRA....

First, as noted in footnote 3 of this dissent, section 760.07 of the Florida Civil Rights Act provides that

...lation occurred does not equate to a finding that there was "no reasonable cause" that the violation occurred, as required by Fla. Stat. § 760.11. An action under the FCRA may be initiated only after plaintiff has exhausted administrative remedies. § 760.07, Fla....

...place of public accommodation without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, handicap, familial status, or religion.” Fla. Stat. § 760.08. It provides a private cause of action for violations of that right. Id. § 760.07....

...Neither statute defines any of the terms used in the exception. The Florida Civil Rights Act includes a similar exception for “lodge halls or other similar facilities of private organizations which are made available for public use occasionally or periodically.” Fla. Stat. § 760.07. As with the federal exception, the Florida Civil Rights Act does not define any of the terms in the exception....