AMICUS AI
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Docket Number
Attorney(S)
Judges
Are you a practicing lawyer?
Enhance your digital presence and reach by creating a Casemine profile.
Upload pleading to use the new AI search
Cites
Cited by
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Docket Number
Attorney(S)
Judges
Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

Lawrence Hoffkins, a retired police officer of the City of Miami, receives a disability pension from the City’s retirement system as well as weekly workmen's compensation benefits stemming from the same injury incurred during his employment. The City of Miami, citing City Ordinance 41-406(15), deducted the amount of $66.00—the weekly workmen's compensation benefit—from Hoffkins’s pension payments. Hoffkins challenged the legality of this deduction and sought a declaratory judgment to declare the ordinance invalid. The trial court dismissed Hoffkins’s complaint, upholding the ordinance’s validity and authorizing the deduction. Hoffkins appealed from this judgment.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether City of Miami Ordinance 41-406(15), which authorizes offsetting pension benefits by workmen's compensation payments, violates the Florida Workmen's Compensation Act and prevailing law and public policy.
  2. Whether the ordinance violates the due process clauses of the United States and Florida Constitutions.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellant's Arguments

  • The ordinance unlawfully forces a police officer receiving both pension and workmen's compensation benefits to waive rights under the Florida Workmen's Compensation Act, specifically contravening Section 440.21(2), which prohibits waiver of compensation rights.
  • The ordinance violates due process protections under the United States and Florida Constitutions by treating Hoffkins differently or unfairly.

Appellee's Arguments

  • The ordinance is a valid exercise of municipal authority and is consistent with the former state statute § 440.09(4), which was previously upheld by Florida courts.
  • The offset only reduces the pension by the amount of workmen's compensation benefits financed by the City, thus it does not exceed the City's contributions and is equitable.
  • No constitutional violation exists because Hoffkins is not treated differently from other claimants; he receives compensation but the pension is offset accordingly.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Safer v. City of Jacksonville, 212 So.2d 785 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968) Declaratory judgment should not be dismissed if a genuine doubt exists as to plaintiff's rights. Supported the principle that Hoffkins’s claim warranted judicial determination rather than outright dismissal.
Purdy v. Covert, 151 So.2d 891 (Fla.App. 2d 1963) Validity of offsetting pension by workmen's compensation benefits under state law. Used to validate the ordinance’s offset provision by analogy to the former statute upheld in this case.
City of Miami v. Clark, 223 So.2d 387 (Fla.App. 3rd 1969) Legitimacy of pension offsets consistent with state law. Confirmed the ordinance's validity in authorizing pension offsets.
City of Miami v. Graham, 138 So.2d 751 (Fla. 1962) Legal foundation for pension offset provisions under state law. Supported the continued validity of the ordinance despite repeal of the former statute.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court analyzed the ordinance in light of the former Florida statute § 440.09(4), which authorized similar pension offsets by workmen's compensation benefits and was previously upheld by Florida courts. Although this statute was repealed, no new legislation prohibits the offset. The court reasoned that under the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act, municipalities retain all powers not expressly forbidden or preempted by higher law. Since the ordinance mirrors the repealed statute's intent and does not exceed the City's pension contributions, the offset is permissible. The court further found that the ordinance does not force an unlawful waiver of compensation rights because it merely offsets pension benefits by amounts already paid by the City as compensation. Regarding the constitutional due process claim, the court determined that Hoffkins is not treated differently than other claimants and that no constitutional violation arises from the offset.

Holding and Implications

The court affirmed the trial court's judgment upholding the validity of City of Miami Ordinance 41-406(15) and authorizing the deduction of workmen's compensation benefits from Hoffkins's pension payments.

This decision directly confirms the City's authority to offset pension benefits by workmen's compensation amounts financed by the City, leaving Hoffkins’s pension subject to such deductions. No new precedent was established beyond reaffirming the ordinance's legality under existing state law and municipal authority.

LAWRENCE HOFFKINS, APPELLANT, v. THE CITY OF MIAMI, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, ET AL., APPELLEE.

PEARSON, Judge.

Lawrence Hoffkins is a retired police officer of the City of Miami. He is receiving a disability pension under the City of Miami retirement system. He is also receiving $66.00 per week workmen's compensation benefits. Both payments arise out of an injury incurred in the course of Officer Hoffkins's employment as a police officer. The City of Miami under the claimed authority of City of Miami Ordinance 41-406(15) has deducted the amount of $66.00 workmen's compensation benefit from the pension check. Hoffkins claims that the deduction is illegal and that he is entitled to his pension payment in full. In order to secure a judicial determination of his rights, he brought an action against the City of Miami for a declaratory judgment. In his complaint, Hoffkins asserted the invalidity of the City of Miami ordinance which authorized the deduction. The trial court dismissed the complaint and this appeal is from that judgment.

City of Miami ordinance 41-406(15):
" Pension Offset by Compensation Benefits.
(15) Any amounts which may be paid or payable under the provisions of any state workmen's compensation or similar law to a member or to the dependents of a member on account of any disability or death shall be offset against and payable in lieu of any benefits payable out of funds provided by the city under the provisions of the retirement system on account of the same disability or death. In case a pension is payable under this retirement system and the present value of the total commuted benefits under such workmen's compensation or similar law is less than the pension reserve on the benefits otherwise payable from funds provided by the city under this retirement system, the present value of the commuted payments shall be deducted from the pension reserve and such benefits as may be provided by the pension reserve so reduced shall be payable under the provisions of the retirement system."

Ordinarily, a complaint for a declaratory judgment which states a genuine doubt as to the rights of the plaintiff will not be dismissed without a declaration of plaintiff's rights. Cf. Safer v. City of Jacksonville, 212 So.2d 785 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968). In the present case, the court did, in fact, enter such a declaratory judgment because its order and opinion held the ordinance to be valid and to authorize the deduction. Appellant's brief does not challenge the judgment appealed on any grounds other than the claimed invalidity of the ordinance. The points presented are: (1) The ordinance is violative of the Florida Workmen's Compensation Act, and of the prevailing law and public policy. (2) The ordinance violates the due process clauses of the United States and Florida Constitutions.

* * *
"1. As to Count I, the Court finds that under the facts as stated in the Complaint, the Plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action. Paragraph 10 of the Complaint herein states that the Defendants permitted an offset of Plaintiff's pension by Plaintiff's Workmen's Compensation benefits under Municipal Ordinance § 41-406(15). The Court finds that said Municipal Ordinance expresses the same intent as former Florida Statute § 440.09(4). Further, § 440.09(4), now repealed was valid and legal under Purdy v. Covert, Fla.App. 2d 1963, 151 So.2d 891; City of Miami v. Clark, Fla.App. (3rd) 1969, 223 So.2d 387, and City of Miami v. Graham, Fla. 1962, 138 So.2d 751. Although said statute has now been repealed, no new legislation has prohibited the action that was allowed thereunder. Thus the action allowed under F.S. § 440.09(4) is still permissible under Municipal Ordinance. Therefore, the action of Plaintiff in offsetting pension by Compensation is permissible under Municipal Ordinance 41-406(15)."
* * * * * *

Under his first point, plaintiff argues that the ordinance in effect forces a police officer who is on pension and is a workmen's compensation claimant involuntarily to waive his rights to the workmen's compensation law in contravention of Section 440.21(2), Florida Statutes, which provides: "(2) No agreement by an employee to waive his right to compensation under this chapter shall be valid." The trial court reasoned that if the former state statute (Section 440.09(4) Laws of Florida 1953, repealed effective July 1, 1973) was valid before repeal (see City of Miami v. Graham, 138 So.2d 751 (Fla. 1962), then a City ordinance providing for the same deduction was also valid. We think that the court's reasoning is correct. This especially true in the present instance where, under the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act, Chapter 73-129, Laws of Florida 1973 (Chapter 166, Florida Statutes), municipalities are granted all powers exercisable by the state with the exception of areas expressly forbidden or preempted by the constitution, general law, county charter or certain special laws of the state.

The City of Miami offset does not go beyond its own contributions to the pension fund, and the offset is equivalent to the amount of the workmen's compensation benefit which is totally financed by the City of Miami.

Appellant's second point does not present error because appellant is not treated different from other workmen's compensation claimants. He receives the compensation payment but the payment is offset under the public pension plan of which he is a member. We find that no constitutional question is involved.

Affirmed.

Use AI to get other relevant cases.

Comments

HOFFKINS v. CITY OF MIAMI
(Dec 21, 1976)