Background
Krista and Robert Zivkovic sought certiorari review of a July 17, 2026 decision by a deputy hearing examiner for Lee County. The hearing examiner’s decision, as well as the Zivkovics’ petition, stated that it was final.
Lee County Land Development Code section 34-146 provides that review of such a decision is available through a petition for writ of certiorari in circuit court. The Zivkovics instead filed their petition in the Sixth District Court of Appeal.
The Court’s Holding
The Sixth District held that it lacked appellate jurisdiction. The hearing examiner’s decision was not a trial-court ruling, an order within the scope of Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130, or an order appealable by statute.
The court also concluded that it lacked certiorari jurisdiction under Rule 9.030(b)(2), because the decision was neither a nonfinal order nor a final order rendered by a circuit court acting in its review capacity. Assuming without deciding that it had original common-law certiorari jurisdiction, the court declined to exercise it in favor of circuit-court review and transferred the timely petition to the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Lee County.
Key Takeaways
- A county hearing examiner’s decision is not directly appealable to the district court of appeal absent a basis for appellate jurisdiction.
- Lee County’s code directs certiorari review of the hearing examiner’s decision to circuit court.
- A timely proceeding filed in the wrong court may be transferred to the appropriate court.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that litigants challenging local administrative or land-development decisions must identify the prescribed review forum before filing. Here, the appellate court preserved the timely challenge by transferring it rather than dismissing it.