Spratt v. City of Jacksonville

Citations

• 29 Fla. 171

Syllabus

<p>1. The advancement for decision of causes in which the State is not a material party in interest, is according to the p>ractice of the court, controlled by the principle announced in the exception in Rule 30 of this court. It must be one in which a county, municipality or other recognized governmental .agency is a real party in interest, and not a mere nominal party, and an immediate or early decision of the cause must be necessary either to the enforcement or protection of the public right asserted therein, or to the avoidance of embarrassment in the - operation of such governmental agency; or it must be a case which, though no governmental agency is a real party in interest to it, yet so involves or affects public interests as that its early decision is necessary to avoid embarrassment to the governmental agency whose interest is involved.</p> <p>2. The mere fact that a suit involves a public question does not give a municipality which is a real party in interest thereto the right to demand its advancement; nor do such fact, and the further facts that the same questions, which have been decided favorably to the city, are involved in several pending suits, or that various other suits may be imminent because of not advancing the particular one, nor that the same questions may arise as to a hundred distress warrants held by the city attorney to be enforced.</p> <p>3. Tlie fact that the cause is one involving municipal taxes, and to which a municipality and a taxpayer are the parties, is no ground for advancing a cause for decision, on the application of the taxpayer.</p>