Pleus v. Vocelle
Pleus v. Vocelle
Opinion of the Court
In a claim for unemployment compensation filed against the appellant, Pleus Bros. Sheet Metal Works, a partnership, the Board of Review held that the appellant, Tampa Metal Products, Inc., a corporation organized by the Pleus brothers and their respective wives, was “in essence a department, branch, or division of the business operated by the appellant partnership” so that the employees of the corporation were the employees of the partnership; that the partnership qualified as an “employer” under Sec. 443.03, Fla.Stat.1955, F.S.A.; and that the wages paid the claimant by the appellant partnership, whether from the partnership or corporation account, constituted wages for insured work within the meaning of the Unemployment Compensation Act. The order of the Board of Review was affirmed by the circuit court on appeal, and this appeal by the corporation and the partnership followed.
The sole issue here is whether it was proper to disregard the corporate entity and group the corporation employees with those o’f the partnership, thus qualifying the partnership as an “employer” under the requirements of Sec. 443.03(7), Fla.Stat.1955, F.S.A.
The record shows that the partnership was formed in 1947 by Ernest Pleus and his brother, Herman W. Pleus, Jr. They fabricate articles made out of heavy sheet metal, such as kitchen cabinets, sinks and drain boards, truck bodies, and tanks. Prior to 1951, the partnership made some
Prior to 1947, the holding of the Board of Review could perhaps have been sustained under the provision of Ch. 18402, Acts of 1937, as amended by Ch. 19637, Acts of 1939, (appearing as Sec. 443.03(7) (d), Fla.Stat. 1941) defining an “employer”, among others, as follows:
“Any employing unit which, together with one or more employing units, is owned or controlled (by legally enforceable means or otherwise) directly or indirectly by the same interests or by husband and wife, or which owns or controls one or more other employing units or a majority of the voting stock of one or more corporations (by legally enforceable means or otherwise), and which, if treated as a single unit with such other employing units, or interests, or both, would be an employer under Paragraph 1 of this subsection.”
But this section of the Unemployment Compensation Act was repealed by Ch. 24085, Acts of 1947; and we find no other provision of the Act which would justify grouping together the employees of two separate “employing units” (a corporation and a partnership), each engaged in manufacturing a different product and operated as a separate financial entity, even though each business is controlled by the same individuals. There is no suggestion that the corporation was organized for any except valid business purposes, and we cannot assume that its sole raison d’etre was to avoid the liability imposed by the Unemployment Compensation Act. This being so, we find no justification for disregarding the corporate entity and treating its employees as those of the partnership. Cf. Naranja Rock Co., Inc., v. Dawal Farms, Inc., Fla.1954, 74 So.2d 282, a workmen’s compensation case.
“It is the unanimous holding of all courts that taxing statutes such as this must be clear and explicit and without question or doubt in order to be enforceable.” Florida Industrial Commission v. Gary-Lockhart Drug Co., 1940, 143 Fla. 293, 196 So. 845, 847. Since the instant claim for unemployment compensation is not clearly within the provisions of the Act, it cannot be allowed.
Reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ernest PLEUS and H. W. Pleus, Jr., t/a Pleus Bros. Sheet Metal Works and Tampa Metal Products, Inc. v. James T. VOCELLE, Walter L. Lightsey and James Cameron, constituting the Florida Industrial Commission, and George W. McKinney
- Status
- Published