Opinion
No. 79024.
July 23, 1992.
Direct Appeal of Judgment of Trial Court, in and for Leon County; F.E. Steinmeyer, Judge — Case No. 90-4435 — Certified by the District Court of Appeal, First District — Case No. 91-3605.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Joseph C. Mellichamp, III, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Tax Section, and Daniel C. Brown, Marguerite H. Davis and Brian M. Nugent of Katz, Kutter, Haigler, Alderman, Davis, Marks Rutledge, P.A., Tallahassee, for appellants/cross-appellees.
Patrick J. Farrell, Jr. of Fuller, Johnson Farrell, P.A., Tallahassee, and Miriam Glueck and Lisa A. Weixelman of Polsinelli, White, Vardeman Shalton, Kansas City, Mo., for appellee/cross-appellant.
Kenneth R. Hart, Steven P. Seymoe and Robert A. Pierce of Ausley, McMullen, McGehee, Carothers and Proctor, Tallahassee, amici curiae, for Motors Ins. Corp., CIM Ins. Corp., MIC Property and Cas. Ins. Corp., MIC Ins. Corp., and MIC General Ins. Corp.
We have on appeal a judgment declaring Florida's insurance premium tax scheme, sections 624.509, .512, .514, Florida Statutes, as it existed during the years 1980 through 1985, unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The district court certified the cause to this Court as involving a question of great public importance requiring immediate resolution. We have jurisdiction, pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(5) of the Florida Constitution, and reverse based on our decision in Gallagher v. Motors Insurance Co., 605 So.2d 62 (Fla. 1992).
Accordingly, we reverse the judgment under review to the extent it finds Florida's premium tax unconstitutional and remand for further proceedings consistent with our decision in Motors Insurance.
Because of our resolution of this issue, we need not address the other issues raised on appeal.
It is so ordered.
BARKETT, C.J., and McDONALD, SHAW and GRIMES, JJ., concur.
HARDING, J., dissents with an opinion, in which OVERTON, J., concurs.
I respectfully dissent for the reasons expressed in my opinion in Gallagher v. Motors Insurance Corp., 605 So.2d 62 (Fla. 1992) (Harding, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part).
OVERTON, J., concurs.