Case Name: FEHLHABER CORPORATION, Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, a municipal corporation located in Palm Beach County, Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1997-06-04
Citations: 696 So. 2d 880
Docket Number: No. 96-2221
Parties: FEHLHABER CORPORATION, Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, a municipal corporation located in Palm Beach County, Florida, Appellee.
Judges: DELL, PARIENTE and GROSS, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 696
Pages: 880–880

Head Matter:
FEHLHABER CORPORATION, Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, a municipal corporation located in Palm Beach County, Florida, Appellee.
No. 96-2221.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
June 4, 1997.
Rehearing and Clarification Denied July 23, 1997.
Richard A. Gescheidt of Gescheidt and Foreman, Boca Raton, for appellant.
John C. Randolph of Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We affirm the trial court's finding that appellant (plaintiff) failed to exhaust its administrative remedies. Plaintiff did not follow the procedures, set forth in the Village of Tequesta's Code, to challenge the building official's decision before filing its lawsuit in the trial court.
After finding that plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies, the trial court proceeded in its final judgment to address the merits of the underlying zoning controversy. Because plaintiff should have first exhausted the available administrative remedies, we vacate the portion of the final judgment that addressed and decided the merits of the controversy.
DELL, PARIENTE and GROSS, JJ., concur.