Opinion ID: 1621475
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Federal Due Process Requirements

Text: When the requirements outlined above are met, as they were in Kuhnlein, we conclude that the failure to comply with the administrative prerequisites of section 215.26 does not preclude the action. While this result is not mandated by federal law, we believe federal law permits it. The United States Supreme Court has held that due process requires states to provide meaningful backward-looking relief or a clear and certain remedy when they place taxpayers under duress to pay a tax ultimately found unconstitutional. McKesson Corp. v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, 496 U.S. 18, 31, 110 S.Ct. 2238, 110 L.Ed.2d 17 (1990). We find that section 215.26 provides adequate post-deprivation relief so as to comport with federal due process standards. We reach this conclusion primarily because McKesson refers to section 215.26 as an example of a statute that imposes permissible procedural requirements on post-deprivation relief. 496 U.S. at 45 n. 28; see also Newsweek, Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue, 522 U.S. 442, 118 S.Ct. 904, 905, 139 L.Ed.2d 888 (1998) (noting that Court has interpreted section 215.26 as providing a postpayment remedy). Additionally, the Court recognized in Reich v. Collins, 513 U.S. 106, 115 S.Ct. 547, 130 L.Ed.2d 454 (1994), that Georgia's tax refund statute, [9] which is similar to section 215.26, provided a clear and certain post-deprivation remedy. Id. at 111. Moreover, other jurisdictions with like statutes have found them in accord with the due process requirements outlined in McKesson. See, e.g., Commonwealth Revenue Cabinet v. Gossum, 887 S.W.2d 329 (Ky.1994); American States Insurance Co. v. State Dep't of Treasury, 220 Mich.App. 586, 560 N.W.2d 644 (1996); Marx v. Broom, 632 So.2d 1315 (Miss.1994); Atkins v. Department of Revenue, 320 Or. 713, 894 P.2d 449 (1995); Stone v. Errecart, 165 Vt. 1, 675 A.2d 1322 (1996). As a final comment, the Court noted in McKesson that the State is free ... to provide broader relief as a matter of state law than is required by the Federal Constitution. 496 U.S. at 52 n. 36. In the end, we believe that Florida, as evidenced by our decision in Kuhnlein, not only satisfies McKesson's due process requirements but indeed provides broader post-deprivation relief to taxpayers who meet the requirements outlined above.