Whether a tenant who prevailed in an eviction lawsuit was able to recover his attorneys fees from the community association which governed a condominium that was the subject of the receivership, the court appointed Successor Receiver for The Horizons West Property Owners Association, Inc. was at issue in the Circuit Court case of Orbe v.
Hurricane Season 2020 is here, and scientists are predicting that it will produce more and stronger storms than we have seen in the recent past. In fact, Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha developed before this season even officially began. We have since seen 2 more named storms and a number of tropical depressions.
Floridians are
A recent decision by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals (“4th DCA”) highlights the deference courts in Florida give community association boards of directors when they make informed, reasonable decisions with respect to enforcing restrictions in their governing documents. In Miller v. Homeland Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc., 284 So. 3d 534 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019),
A community association’s declaration of covenants governs the duties and responsibilities between an association and its owners. When interpreting the text of such documents, courts will apply a rule of strict construction that requires a court to apply any unclear or ambiguous language in the manner most favorable to the owner. Strict construction has a
At the time of our last Legislative Update article, the Florida Legislature was working on several bills that would significantly impact community associations on a wide range of issues. However, as the 2020 legislative session closed amid the emerging coronavirus pandemic, most of the bills geared specifically toward community associations failed to receive approval, including
We are in unchartered waters as our country faces the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of people have been laid off, millions more are dealing with reduction in work hours, and businesses that were once thriving are completely shut down.
Florida like many other states have issued emergency orders that significantly impact the way we do business –
With the declaration of a national emergency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) urging a nationwide halt to gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, the COVID-19 public health emergency has created a lot of uncertainty for communities. Communities need to balance taking reasonable steps to limit exposure
While some legislative sessions can be relatively uneventful for condominiums and homeowner associations, this year there are a number of bills that could have a significant impact on the operation and governance of these communities.
In particular, House Bill 623 – Community Associations includes a number of proposed changes that would significantly impact condominiums, cooperatives, and
The collection of consumer debts is regulated both by the federal law under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”), and state law under the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act (the “FCCPA”). The FDCPA and the FCCPA are not identical, but the FCCPA specifically acknowledges the continued applicability of the FDCPA. This means coming
As so many community associations have encountered first-hand, the Florida and Federal Fair Housing Acts (FHA) require condominium and homeowners associations to grant exceptions (or a waiver) to pet restrictions in order to allow a person with a disability to keep an animal which alleviates one or more symptoms of that disability, but would otherwise
