Title: Palm Beach Mobile Homes, Inc. v. Strong
Citation: 300 So. 2d 881
Docket Number: 44179
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: July 10, 1974

300 So. 2d 881 (1974)
PALM BEACH MOBILE HOMES, INC., a Florida Corporation, and Dolan Corporation, a Florida Corporation, Appellants,
v.
Beatrice STRONG, Appellee.
No. 44179.

Supreme Court of Florida.
July 10, 1974.
*882 Theodore Babbitt of Phillips &amp; Babbitt, West Palm Beach, for appellants.
Earl R. Boyce, Lake Worth, for appellee.
Jack M. Skelding, Jr. of Madigan, Parker, Gatlin, Truett &amp; Swedmark, Tallahassee, for Florida Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Assn.
Malcolm Anderson, West Palm Beach, for Federation of Mobile Home Owners of Florida, Inc.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen. and William R. Hanley, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State of Florida, as amicus curiae.
ROBERTS, Justice.
This cause is before us on direct appeal from a final judgment of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County holding Sections 83.271, 83.281, and 83.291, Florida Statutes, to be constitutional, thereby vesting jurisdiction in this Court pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution, 1973, F.S.A.
Appellee, plaintiff below, filed a complaint and amended complaint for declaratory relief against appellants alleging that in April, 1971, she purchased a trailer from appellant Dolan Corporation; that the appellants agreed to rent her a lot at Palm Beach Mobile Homes for the annual sum of $600 and that she paid them the first year's rent; that on March 8, 1972, Sections 83.271, 83.281, and 83.291, Florida Statutes, relating to mobile homes became effective; that in April, 1972, she tendered a cashier's check in the amount of $600 to appellants and that they returned and refused the same; that she is unsure as to her rights under the new legislation and due to threats by appellants as to future action, she seeks a determination of her rights and construction of the new legislation relative to her relationship with appellants. She further alleged that appellants have continuously harassed and annoyed her, have caused her grievous anguish, pain and suffering, and have given her no legal reason to either evict her or refuse payment for annual rental. In a second count to the complaint, appellee sought damages in excess of $2,500 for alleged injury, loss of reputation and medical expenses. Appellants answered setting forth an affirmative defense that the plaintiff had violated the rules and regulations of the park and also alleging that the statute in question was unconstitutional as sought to be applied and appellants counter claimed alleging their right to refuse to renew the original oral lease when it expired on April 22, 1972, and praying for a judgment of eviction in accordance with Section 83.06, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. Appellee denied each and every allegation of the counter claim.
Upon motion of appellants, the trial court dismissed Count II of the complaint.
The case was tried before the court without a jury, and final judgment was entered *883 on July 6, 1973, in favor of appellee on both her complaint and the appellants' counter claim. The trial court held that Sections 83.271, 83.281, and 83.291, Florida Statutes, are constitutional and in effect at all times concerning this action, ordered that appellee is entitled to rent or lease the premises without interference or harassment from appellants and found that appellee had not violated any federal, state or local laws or park regulations and that she shall be allowed to peaceful possession of the premises as long as reasonable.
Although the trial court upheld the constitutionality of Sections 83.271, 83.281, and 83.291, Florida Statutes, the determinative issue in this cause is the construction, application and constitutionality of Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, adopted by the Legislature in the 1972 legislative session as Chapter 72-28, Laws of Florida, which became effective March 8, 1972, which act pertains to evictions from mobile home parks. The remaining statutory provisions ruled on by the trial court were not material to the instant cause nor was such determination required for the disposition of this litigation. Therefore, the constitutionality vel non thereof will not be passed upon in the present cause by this Court since this Court has previously held that it is a fundamental principle that courts will not pass upon the validity of a statute or even a part of an act in a proceeding which does not involve the act or wherein the case may be disposed of upon any other ground. Williston Highlands Development Corp., et al. v. Hogue, et al., 277 So. 2d 260 (Fla. 1973); De Jong v. Pallotto, 239 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1970); Mounier v. State, 178 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1965); Lainhart v. Catts, et al., 73 Fla. 735, 75 So. 47 (1917). Specifically, this Court explicated in P.C. Lissenden Co. v. Board of County Commissioners, 116 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 1959):
The only issue argued sub judice by counsel for the parties is the constitutionality vel non of Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, and the appropriate construction to be given thereto.
This statute provides:
The authority of the state through the Legislature to impose reasonable regulations upon mobile homes and mobile home parks is unquestionable under its broad police power in view of the fact that this enterprise peculiarly affects the public interest and bears a substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. Egan v. City of Miami, et al., 130 Fla. 465, 178 So. 132 (1938); 54 Am.Jur.2d Mobile Homes, § 5; 22 A.L.R.2d 774; Hodes and Roberson, The Law of Mobile Homes 2nd Ed.; "Regulation of Mobile Homes," 13 Syracuse Law Review 125. The right to contract and to use one's property as one wills are fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of the United States and the constitution of Florida; however, this Court has ofttimes declared that the degree of such guaranties must be determined in the light of social and economic conditions which prevail at a given time. In Robinson v. Florida Dry Cleaning &amp; Laundry Board, 141 Fla. 899, 194 So. 269 (1940), this Court quoting with emphasis from Miami Laundry Co. v. Florida Dry Cleaning and Laundry Board, 134 Fla. 1, 183 So. 759 (1938), 119 A.L.R. 956, said:
Freedom to contract and a citizen's right to pursue a lawful business which are valuable property rights are subject to reasonable restraint in the interest of the public welfare. The right to contract is the general rule and restraint of this right by the police power is the exception to be exercised when necessary to secure the comfort, health, welfare, safety and prosperity of the people. Adams v. Miami Beach Hotel Assoc., 77 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 1955); Miami Shores Village v. Wm. N. Brockway Post No. 124 of American Legion, 156 Fla. 673, 24 So. 2d 33 (Fla. 1945); Eccles v. Stone, 134 Fla. 113, 183 So. 628 (Fla. 1938); State ex rel. Fulton v. Ives, et al., 123 Fla. 401, 167 So. 394 (Fla. 1936); Holden v. Hardy, 169 U.S. 366, 18 S. Ct. 383, 42 L. Ed. 780. The Supreme Court of the United States in Atlantic Coastline Railroad Company v. City of Goldsboro, North Carolina, 232 U.S. 548, 34 S. Ct. 364, 58 L. Ed. 721 (1914), succinctly explained the scope of the power of the state to secure health, safety, good order, comfort and general welfare of the state, as follows:
The question posited by appellants sub judice is if the trial court appropriately construed Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, then whether such statute constitutes an arbitrary and unreasonable regulation by the state constituting a deprivation of property rights without due process, impairment of contractual obligation, and a violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution of Florida. It is generally accepted that the state is the primary judge of, and may by statute or other appropriate means, regulate any enterprise, trade, occupation or profession if necessary to protect the public health, welfare or morals. McInerney v. Ervin, 46 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 1950). Legislative action exercised under the state's police power is valid if such exercise is confined to those acts which may reasonably be construed as expedient at least for the protection of public safety, public welfare, public morals or public health. Sweat v. Turpentine &amp; Rosin Factors, Inc., 112 Fla. 428, 150 So. 617, 618 (1933); Eelbeck Milling Company v. Mayo, 86 So. 2d 438, 439 (Fla. 1956); Larson v. Lesser, 106 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 1958); Zabel v. Pinellas County Water and Navigation Control Authority, 171 So. 2d 376 (Fla. 1965); Newman v. Carson, 280 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 1973).
We recognize the liberty and property right that every owner of a mobile home and every owner or operator of a mobile home park possesses to use his property in his own way and for his own purposes subject only to the restraint necessary to secure the public welfare. However, we find that Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, constitutes a reasonable and necessary regulation of that right in view of the peculiar nature and problems presented by mobile homes. Hodes and Roberson in their treatise on The Law of Mobile Homes, 2d Ed., stated:
Mobile homes come to rest in established parks, the wheels are generally removed, they are anchored to the ground, because of forces of the wind, connections with electricity, water and sewerage are made, awnings are frequently attached, and to a large degree they lose their mobility except, unless, and until the wheels are restored, disruption of electrical, water and sewer connections is had and a certain amount of dismantling and crating is had, all at a substantial expense of the owner of the mobile home who had bought such home with the expectation of being able to remain in the park for a not unreasonable time so long as he abides by all the reasonable regulations established by the park owner. The removal from one park to another becomes more than a mere hitching to a truck or tractor and pulling it away. To a large degree, mobile homes are occupied by people in the lower income brackets who cannot spend several hundred dollars at the mere whim of a lessor park. The classification of mobile home park owners as distinguished from other landlords is reasonable and practical. There is a just, fair, and practical basis for the classification and it is based on a real difference which reasonably relates to the subject and purpose of the regulation. Finlayson v. Conner, 167 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 1964); State v. White, 194 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 1967); Newman v. Carson, supra; Stewart v. Green, et al., Fla., 300 So. 2d 889, opinion filed ____.
In Stewart v. Green, supra, which upholds the constitutionality of amended Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, Chapter 73-182, Laws of Florida, now number Section 83.69, Florida Statutes (1973), F.S.A., Justice Ervin clearly and succinctly explains the need for and reasonableness of the questioned legislation in view of the peculiar problems confronting mobile home owners. Therein he states:
We agree with the trial court's application and construction of Section 83.271 (now Section 83.69) which is in accordance with Stewart, supra. This legislation was enacted to provide mobile home owners with security in dealings with mobile home park owners and at the same *887 time impose the least restrictions on the landlord. By enactment of Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, no impairment of contract rights has occurred since the contract clause must be construed in harmony with the reserved power to safeguard the vital interests of the people. Relative to the concept of impairment of contractual obligations, this Court explicated in Mahood v. Bessemer Prop., Inc., 154 Fla. 710, 18 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 1944):
See also: Hillsborough County v. Bregenzer, et al., 151 Fla. 747, 10 So. 2d 498 (1942); Shavers v. Duval County, 73 So. 2d 684 (Fla. 1954); State ex rel. Fulton v. Ives, supra.
Although we find that Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, is constitutionally valid, we are fully cognizant that a contention might be made that the act is invalid because it would have the effect of permanently depriving the owner of the land upon which a mobile home park is located for all times of the management in the use of his land for other purposes than a mobile home park. This would ordinarily raise serious doubts as to the constitutionality vel non of the act; however, that question has become moot in that the 1973 Legislature has cured the defects by enacting into law the following:
*888 Sub judice, this question of changing the use of the property was not involved and the foregoing statement is by way of caveat.
Furthermore, relative to the question of deprivation of property rights of mobile home park owners, we note that this Court has the duty if reasonably possible and consistent with constitutional rights to resolve all doubts as to the validity of a statute in favor of its constitutionality and if possible a statute should be construed as not to conflict with the constitution. The legislature has specifically recognized the right of the mobile home park owner or operator to establish and publish reasonable rules and regulations relating to tenants in the park. Recognizing the perpetual occupancy rights on another's property cannot, consistent with the constitution, be granted by law, we must construe the act in such a manner as to preserve its purpose while operating within the framework of the Constitution of Florida and of the Constitution of the United States. We, therefore, find that is is not inconceivable that one rule adopted by a mobile home park owner be that the landlord can terminate the tenancy after substantial duration and a park rule to that effect would be consistent with the remedies sought to be accomplished by the legislature provided that the notice time was for a reasonable period, and we cannot say that a rule requiring vacancy on at least twelve months' or more notice would be unreasonable. Anything less than twelve months would be unreasonable. The abbreviation of the tenancy must be consistent with the total circumstances and not inconsistent with the existing evils recognized by the legislature nor the remedies sought to be accomplished.
We are not unmindful of Subsection (2) of Section 83.271 (now (2) of 83.69) which provides:
However, it must be remembered that any such lease is made in contemplation of and subject to the limiting provisions of the statute.[2]
Accordingly, we hold that Section 83.271, Florida Statutes, is constitutional and that the trial court properly applied it to the instant cause. The final judgment of the trial court is, therefore, affirmed.
It is so ordered.
BOYD, McCAIN and OVERTON, JJ., concur.
ERVIN, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion in which ADKINS, C.J., concurs.
DEKLE, J., dissents.
ERVIN, Justice (concurring in part and dissenting in part):
Insofar as the majority concludes that a mobile home park owner can by a unilateral *889 regulation terminate a tenancy at the end of a year, it is pure obiter dictum and directly contrary to the intent of F.S. Section 83.69, F.S.A. My opinion in Stewart v. Green, Case No. 44,832, filed July 10, 1974, follows the plain language of Section 83.69 that a mobile home park tenancy is not to be terminated at the end of any agreed term, whether month-to-month or a year or longer, by any unilateral notice or eviction proceedings of the landlord so long as the agreed or reasonably adjusted rent is paid. The regulations prescribed unilaterally by the mobile home park landlord cannot provide for lease eviction termination on the sole basis of a year's tenancy contrary to Section 83.69, although the landlord and tenant may mutually agree to a terminable one-year lease prior to the inception of the tenancy.
Except as indicated above, I agree with the majority opinion.
ADKINS, C.J., concurs.
[1]  It should be noted that other revisions to Section 83.271 (renumbered in the 1973 Statutes as 83.69) were made by the Legislature. Section 83.69 now reads as follows:

(1) A mobile home park owner or operator may not evict a mobile home or a mobile home dweller other than for the following reasons:
(a) Nonpayment of rent.
(b) Conviction of a violation of some federal or state law or local ordinance, which [violation] may be deemed detrimental to the health, safety, [or] and welfare of other dwellers in the mobile home park.
(c) Violation of any reasonable rule or regulation established by the park owner or operator, provided the mobile home owner received written notice of the grounds upon which he is to be evicted at least thirty days prior to the date he is required to vacate. A copy of all rules and regulations shall be delivered by the park owner or operator to the mobile home owner prior to his signing the lease or entering into a rental agreement. A copy of the rules and regulations shall also be posted in the recreation hall, if any, or some other conspicuous place in the park. A mobile home park rule or regulation shall be presumed to be reasonable if it is similar to rules and regulations customarily established in other mobile home parks located in this state or if the rule or regulation is not immoderate or excessive.
[(d) above stated]
(2) Cumulative eviction proceedings may be established in a written lease agreement between the park owner or operator and a mobile home dweller in addition to those established by law.
(3) This section shall not preclude summary eviction proceedings, and if the park operator or owner does not have one of the above grounds available, the park tenant may raise the same by affirmative defense.
[2]  We also note that the 1974 Legislature enacted Section 83.695 dealing with mobile home leases which upon becoming effective January 1, 1975, will bear directly on the rights of lessors and lessees of mobile home parks.