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Florida Statute 489.1195 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
F.S. 489.1195 Case Law from Google Scholar
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The 2023 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
Chapter 489
CONTRACTING
View Entire Chapter
F.S. 489.1195
489.1195 Responsibilities.
(1) A qualifying agent is a primary qualifying agent unless he or she is a secondary qualifying agent under this section.
(a) All primary qualifying agents for a business organization are jointly and equally responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization; for all field work at all sites; and for financial matters, both for the organization in general and for each specific job.
(b) Upon approval by the board, a business entity may designate a financially responsible officer for purposes of certification or registration. A financially responsible officer shall be responsible for all financial aspects of the business organization and may not be designated as the primary qualifying agent. The designated financially responsible officer shall furnish evidence of the financial responsibility, credit, and business reputation of either himself or herself, or the business organization he or she desires to qualify, as determined appropriate by the board.
(c) Where a business organization has a certified or registered financially responsible officer, the primary qualifying agent shall be responsible for all construction activities of the business organization, both in general and for each specific job.
(d) The board shall adopt rules prescribing the qualifications for financially responsible officers, including net worth, cash, and bonding requirements. These qualifications must be at least as extensive as the requirements for the financial responsibility of qualifying agents.
(2)(a) One of the qualifying agents for a business organization that has more than one qualifying agent may be designated as the sole primary qualifying agent for the business organization by a joint agreement that is executed, on a form provided by the board, by all qualifying agents for the business organization.
(b) The joint agreement must be submitted to the board for approval. If the board determines that the joint agreement is in good order, it shall approve the designation and immediately notify the qualifying agents of such approval. The designation made by the joint agreement is effective upon receipt of the notice by the qualifying agents.
(c) The qualifying agent designated for a business organization by a joint agreement is the sole primary qualifying agent for the business organization, and all other qualifying agents for the business organization are secondary qualifying agents.
(d) A designated sole primary qualifying agent has all the responsibilities and duties of a primary qualifying agent, notwithstanding that there are secondary qualifying agents for specified jobs. The designated sole primary qualifying agent is jointly and equally responsible with secondary qualifying agents for field work supervision.
(e) A secondary qualifying agent is responsible only for:
1. The supervision of field work at sites where his or her license was used to obtain the building permit; and
2. Any other work for which he or she accepts responsibility.

A secondary qualifying agent is not responsible for supervision of financial matters.

(3)(a) A qualifying agent who has been designated by a joint agreement as the sole primary qualifying agent for a business organization may terminate this status as such by giving actual notice to the business organization, to the board, and to all secondary qualifying agents of his or her intention to terminate this status. The notice to the board must include proof satisfactory to the board that he or she has given the notice required in this paragraph.
(b) The status of the qualifying agent shall cease upon the designation of a new primary qualifying agent or 60 days after satisfactory notice of termination has been provided to the board, whichever first occurs.
(c) If no new primary qualifying agent has been designated within 60 days, all secondary qualifying agents for the business organization shall become primary qualifying agents unless the joint agreement specifies that one or more of them shall become sole qualifying agents under such circumstances, in which case only they shall become sole qualifying agents.
(d) Any change in the status of a qualifying agent is prospective only. A qualifying agent is not responsible for his or her predecessor’s actions but is responsible, even after a change in status, for matters for which he or she was responsible while in a particular status.
History.ss. 11, 21, ch. 88-156; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 14, ch. 93-166; s. 484, ch. 97-103; s. 11, ch. 97-228; s. 4, ch. 98-116; s. 27, ch. 99-7.

F.S. 489.1195 on Google Scholar

F.S. 489.1195 on Casetext

Amendments to 489.1195


Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 489.1195
Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 489.1195.



Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

10 Cases from Casetext:Date Descending

U.S. Supreme Court11th Cir. - Ct. App.11th Cir. - MD FL11th Cir. - ND FL11th Cir. - SD FLFed. Reg.Secondary Sources - All
  1. Empire's proposed amended negligence claim is futile because it "would still be subject to dismissal." See Patel, 485 F. App'x 982 at 982-83. The proposed counterclaim's negligence count alleges that Dreke "owed a nondelegable duty to Empire" and that his duty was breached due to "insufficient and improper supervision." (ECF No. 71-1 ¶¶ 42, 47.) The Florida Supreme Court held that although "a qualifying agent for a corporation has a duty to supervise a corporation's construction projects" under §§ 489.119, 489.1195, Florida Statutes, the failure to meet that duty "does not give rise to a private cause of action against a corporation's qualifying agent." Murthy v. N. Sinha Corp., 644 So. 2d 983, 985 (Fla. 1994). In other words, merely breaching the statutory duty to supervise the construction project cannot give rise to a negligence claim. Only if Empire alleged that it suffered some injury independent of the alleged statutory violations, i.e. an injury not resulting from Dreke's failure to supervise, can it sufficiently state a claim. See Hucke v. Kubra Date Transfer Ltd., Corp., 160 F. Supp. 3d 1320, 1326 (S.D. Fla. 2015) (Rosenberg, J.) ("nothing in Murthy stands for…
  2. Stasinos v. State

    209 So. 3d 18 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2016)   Cited 1 times
    Pursuant to section 489.1195(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2015), qualifying agents for a business organization are jointly and equally responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization, including field work and financial matters.
    PAGE 20
  3. Taylor Morrison Servs., Inc. v. Ecos

    163 So. 3d 1286 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2015)   1 Legal Analyses
    Even though Guy was not listed on the permit as the contractor, he was responsible as a primary qualifying agent for all of Appellant's construction projects. § 489.1195(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2003); Alles v. Dep't of Prof'l Regulation, 423 So.2d 624, 626 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). Whether he carried out this responsibility faithfully is a separate question from whether he could be considered a qualifying agent that Appellant had on the contract date, and one the trial court did not need to decide.
    PAGE 1292
  4. Third Party Defendants' reliance on § 489.1195 is misplaced. First, § 489.1195 governs only the liability of the primary qualifying agent with respect to the business organization (Weddle); it does not discuss the liability of the business organization (Weddle) with respect to the subcontractors (Third Party Defendants), which is the pertinent issue for Weddle's common law indemnification claims. Second, Weddle is not a primary qualifying agent, and any duty imposed by § 489.1195 on qualifying agents is therefore irrelevant. See Fla. Stat. § 489.105(4), Fla. Stat. § 489.119(3)(a) (defining primary qualifying agent as a "person" who is a licensed contractor); Boatwright Const., LLC v. Tarr, 958 So. 2d 1071, 1073 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (noting that § 489.1195 sets forth the responsibilities of qualifying agents).
    PAGE 4
  5. Boatwright Construction, LLC v. Tarr

    958 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007)   Cited 2 times
    The responsibilities of a qualifying agent are set forth in section 489.1195, Florida Statutes (2000). It is clear from the pleadings that the contract between Tarr and Boatwright did not contemplate that Tan-would perform the statutorily-required duties of a qualifying agent.
    PAGE 1073
  6. Section 489.129(1) authorizes disciplinary action (revocation or suspension of license) if the business organization for which the contractor is a primary qualifying agent (licensee) is found guilty of abandoning a construction project. Section 489.1195(1)(a) makes qualifying agents for a business organization jointly and equally responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization including field work and financial matters.
    PAGE 225
  7. Mivan

    857 So. 2d 901 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)   Cited 9 times
    If a business organization proposes to engage in contracting in Florida, it must apply for a certificate of authority through a qualifying agent. § 489.119(2), Fla. Stat. (1997). The qualifying agent is "responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization; for all field work at all sites; and for financial matters, both for the organization in general and for each specific job." § 489.1195( 1)(a), Fla. Stat. (1997). The qualifying agent must be certified or registered in order for the business organization to obtain a certificate of authority to conduct the type of contracting business for which the qualifying agent is certified or registered. § 489.119(3)(a), Fla. Stat. (1997). Any person who wishes to engage in the business of contracting in Florida must comply with the certification or registration requirements. § 489.113(2), Fla. Stat. (1997); see also § 489.105(7)-(11), Fla. Stat. (1997). The specific certification or registration criteria are relative to whether a contractor wants to engage in contracting business statewide or in a localized area within the state. § 489.113(1), Fla. Stat. (1997); see also § 489.105(7)-(11), Fla. Stat…
  8. (1) the board may take . . . action against any certificate holder . . . if the contractor, financially responsible officer, or business organization for which the contractor is a primary qualifying agent, a financially responsible officer, or a secondary qualifying agent responsible under s. 489.1195 is found guilty of any of the following acts:
    PAGE 152
  9. The owners contend that chapter 489 creates a cause of action against a qualifying agent who fails to supervise his corporation's construction projects and that the trial court, therefore, erred in dismissing their claims against Sinha. In particular, they claim that sections 489.119 and 489.1195, Florida Statutes (1991), impose a duty to supervise on the qualifying agent and a violation of that duty constitutes negligence per se or at least evidence of negligence sufficient to send the cause to a jury. We agree that a qualifying agent for a corporation has a duty to supervise a corporation's construction projects, but we find that the failure to meet that duty does not give rise to a private cause of action against a corporation's qualifying agent.
    PAGE 985
  10. Mitchell v. Edge

    598 So. 2d 125 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)   Cited 10 times
    In 1988, the legislature codified the above-referenced case law which specifically holds that qualifying agents have a duty to supervise pursuant to section 489.119. See § 489.1195, Fla. Stat. (1988). Section 489.1195 states, "[a]ll qualifying agents for a business organization are jointly and equally responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization; for all field work at all sites; and for financial matters, both for the organization in general and for each specific job." § 489.1195(1). With the statute having the effect of lifting the protection of the corporate veil, a qualifying agent is personally liable where construction defects result from his failure to exercise "due care in carrying out his statutorily-imposed duty of construction supervision." Gatwood v. McGee.
    PAGE 129

    Cases from cite.case.law:

    STASINOS, v. STATE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL REGULATION,, 209 So. 3d 18 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2016)

    . . . Pursuant to section 489.1195(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2015), qualifying agents for a business organization . . .

    TAYLOR MORRISON SERVICES, INC. f k a v. ECOS, 163 So. 3d 1286 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2015)

    . . . . § 489.1195(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2003); Alies v. . . .

    BOATWRIGHT CONSTRUCTION, LLC, v. R. TARR, R. v. LLC,, 958 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007)

    . . . The responsibilities of a qualifying agent are set forth in section 489.1195, Florida Statutes (2000) . . .

    E. SHIMKUS, v. STATE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL REGULATION, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LICENSING BOARD,, 932 So. 2d 223 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2005)

    . . . Section 489.1195(l)(a) makes qualifying agents for a business organization jointly and equally responsible . . .

    MIVAN FLORIDA INC. n k a v. METRIC CONSTRUCTORS, INC., 857 So. 2d 901 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)

    . . . .” § 489.1195(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (1997). . . .

    LOEFFLER, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION,, 739 So. 2d 150 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1999)

    . . . qualifying agent, a financially responsible officer, or a secondary qualifying agent responsible under s. 489.1195 . . . and Design, Inc., was not “qualified” by the licensee as that term is used in Sections 489.119 and 489.1195 . . . As set forth in § 489.1195(l)(a), Fla. . . .

    MURTHY, v. N. SINHA CORP., 644 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 1994)

    . . . In particular, they claim that sections 489.119 and 489.1195, Florida Statutes (1991), impose a duty . . . qualifying agent may be held individually liable for a breach of the duty created by sections 489.119 and 489.1195 . . .

    C. MITCHELL S. v. D. EDGE R., 598 So. 2d 125 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)

    . . . See § 489.1195, Fla.Stat. (1988). . . . Section 489.1195 states, “[a]ll qualifying agents for a business organization are jointly and equally . . . sites; and for financial matters, both for the organization in general and for each specific job.” § 489.1195 . . .

    C. BONESKI, v. DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL REGULATION,, 562 So. 2d 441 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990)

    . . . the contractor is a primary qualifying agent or is a secondary qualifying agent responsible under s. 489.1195 . . .