Williams v. Schulman ex rel. School Board of Palm Beach County
Williams v. Schulman ex rel. School Board of Palm Beach County
Opinion of the Court
Although we might question why the circuit court entertained appellant’s suit in its appellate capacity, as opposed to a new action for writ of mandamus directed to the school board and appellee Schulman as acting superintendent, we conclude the correct result was reached when the court denied mandamus. We have treated this matter as a final appeal, rather than a petition for writ of certiorari directed to the circuit court sitting in its appellate capacity. Appellant does not argue that the circuit court’s procedure for handling his claim forms a basis for reversal.
We hold the circuit court did not err in denying appellant mandamus relief in
Further, appellant is not entitled to mandamus relief because he has an adequate remedy at law. In addition to this mandamus action, Williams still has pending in the trial court a separate suit for declaratory relief and money damages arising from the same claim. See Pino v. Dist. Court of Appeal, Third Dist., 604 So.2d 1232 (Fla. 1992) (mandamus is appropriate remedy only where petitioner has no other legal method for obtaining relief); McDaniel v. City of Lakeland, 304 So.2d 515 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974) (affirming denial of mandamus without prejudice to petitioner’s institution of a separate action for declaratory judgment or for damages to secure the relief he sought in mandamus petition).
AFFIRMED.
. Under section 231.36(3)(a), only those teachers who completed the statutory requirements before July 1, 1984, were entitled to a continuing contract. While we believe Williams actually wanted a professional service contract, this omission has no bearing on our holding in this case.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.