Case Name: Wayne and Vivian SMITH, Appellants, v. L.J. "Lu" HINDERY, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1984-07-25
Citations: 454 So. 2d 663
Docket Number: No. AS-389
Parties: Wayne and Vivian SMITH, Appellants, v. L.J. “Lu” HINDERY, Appellee.
Judges: SHIVERS, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 454
Pages: 663–672

Head Matter:
Wayne and Vivian SMITH, Appellants, v. L.J. “Lu” HINDERY, Appellee.
No. AS-389.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
July 25, 1984.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 27, 1984.
Thomas J. Farkash, Gainesville, for appellants.
W.G. Phillips, Gainesville, for appellee.

Opinion:
CORRECTED OPINION
MILLS, Judge.
Wayne and Vivian Smith, husband and wife, appeal from an order granting forfeiture of their interest in a pickup truck pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, Sections 932.701-932.704, Florida Statutes (1981). The Smiths contend that the pickup truck was held by the entireties and therefore was not subject to forfeiture by one spouse without the knowledge and consent of the other. We agree and reverse.
On 21 September 1982, Wayne Smith used the pickup truck registered in the names "Smith, Vivian L. or Wayne" to transport stolen cattle. He was subsequently arrested and charged with grand theft. On 18 March 1983, the trial court ordered forfeiture of the Smith's interest in the truck. The parties stipulated that Mrs. Smith had no knowledge of and did not consent to her husband's illegal use of the vehicle. They also stipulated that the Smith's title to the pickup truck was held by the entireties. The facts adduced at trial clearly supported this legal conclusion.
Property held by the entireties cannot be forfeited by one spouse acting alone. Tingle v. Hornsby, 111 So.2d 274 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959). The conjunction used between the names of a husband and wife is not determinative of whether a tenancy by entirety exists. This is determined by facts. Norman v. Bank of Hawthorne, 321 So.2d 112 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975).
In Roger Dean Chevrolet, Inc. v. Fischer, 217 So.2d 355 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969), the Fourth District Court of Appeal held on the facts adduced that an automobile registered in the names "James or Susann G. Fischer" was entireties property and that the wife was entitled to replevin after the husband purported to sell the car to Roger Dean Chevrolet without her consent. We agree with this holding and find it is applicable to the facts in the case before us.
The trial court concluded that "the act" was mandatory and therefore it was required to forfeit the Smith's pickup truck. Not so. Forfeiture statutes are not favored in law or in equity. Forfeiture statutes are intended to apply to those individuals who are significantly involved in criminal enterprise. Statute authorizing forfeiture is discretionary, not mandatory. In re 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 334 So.2d 82 (Fla.1976). The trial court abused its discretion under the facts and the law of this case.
The Smiths further contend that they were denied a jury trial in violation of Article I, Section 22 of the Florida Constitution. That contention is without merit. The right to a jury trial is guaranteed by the Florida Constitution only in cases where that right existed at common law, not where a right and remedy were thereafter created by statute. Hathorne v. Panama Park Co., 44 Fla. 194, 32 So. 812 (1902). The Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act did not exist at common law, and there is therefore no right to a jury trial in a forfeiture proceeding under that Act.
Finally, it is contended that the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act violates due process by allowing prejudgment seizure of property without notice or a hearing. We disagree. Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co., 416 U.S. 663, 94 S.Ct. 2080, 40 L.Ed.2d 452 (1974).
• A word of caution. Section 319.22(2), Florida Statutes (1979), was amended effective 1 January 1980 to provide that the use of the disjunctive "or" in a motor vehicle certificate of title or registration shall create a joint tenancy with each named owner having the absolute right to dispose of the title and interest in the vehicle upon signature endorsement of only one of them and that this provision shall apply if the co-owners are husband and wife. This statute is not applicable to this case because it is not retroactive. Our opinion would have reached a different result if the statute had been retroactive.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for entry of an order denying forfeiture.
SHIVERS, J., concurs.
ZEHMER, J., concurs specially with opinion.