The City of North Port, Florida v. West Villagers for Responsible Government, Inc., and John Meisel
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 7, 2022
Docket2D22-0269
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
THE CITY OF NORTH PORT,
Petitioner,
v.
WEST VILLAGERS FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, INC., AND
JOHN MEISEL,
Respondents.
No. 2D22-269
October 7, 2022
Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Circuit Court for the Twentieth
Judicial Circuit for Sarasota County; sitting in its appellate
capacity.
Nikki C. Day, Jamie A. Kilpatrick, and Elizabeth W. Neiberger of
Bryant, Miller, Oliver, P.A., Tampa, for Petitioner.
Luke Lirot of Luke Charles Lirot, P.A., Clearwater, for Respondents.
Ashley Lukis of GrayRobinson, P.A., Tallahassee; and Thomas A.
Cloud of GrayRobinson, Orlando, for Amicus Curiae Florida League
of Cities, Inc.
KHOUZAM, Judge.
The City of North Port petitions this court for second-tier
certiorari review, seeking to quash the circuit court's order granting
the first-tier certiorari petition filed by West Villagers for
Responsible Government and John Meisel. The circuit court
quashed the City Commission's order rejecting West Villagers'
petition to contract the City's municipal boundaries pursuant to
section 171.051, Florida Statutes (2020). We deny the City's
petition.
On a petition for second-tier certiorari, this court's review is
extremely limited. "As a case travels up the judicial ladder, review
should consistently become narrower . . . ." Nader v. Fla. Dep't of
Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 87 So. 3d 712, 723 (Fla. 2012)
(quoting Haines City Cmty. Dev. v. Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523, 530 (Fla.
1995)). On second-tier certiorari review, "[t]he inquiry is limited to
whether the circuit court afforded procedural due process
and whether the circuit court applied the correct law." Id. (quoting
Heggs, 658 So. 2d at 530). "[A]ppellate courts must exercise
caution not to expand certiorari jurisdiction to review the
correctness of the circuit court's decision." Id.
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Here, procedural due process is not at issue, and the circuit
court applied the correct law. Because the circuit court applied the
correct law, second-tier certiorari relief is not warranted.
Accordingly, we deny the City's petition.
Denied.
MORRIS, C.J., and BLACK, J., Concur.
__________________________
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
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