Blogs & Resources

Every so often condo associations must deal with one or more abandoned units within their communities. Whether the result of owners unable to secure a tenant or lender foreclosure actions, abandoned units can create serious issues for an association such as the growth of hazardous mold, insect infestation and other forms of unit deterioration. Sometimes a prior owner will leave a unit in an uninhabitable condition or even purposefully destroy parts of the unit, which isn’t discovered until after a foreclosure sale. Abandoned units in poor condition can lead to damage to the common elements and limited common elements if not timely addressed. The Florida Condominium Act enables associations to be proactive when these circumstances arise and provides various remedies to associations dealing with these predicaments. This Blog post will discuss condo associations’ rights and remedies concerning abandoned and foreclosed units in disrepair.

As per Section 718.111(a), Florida Statutes, the officers and directors of a condominium  association owe a fiduciary duty to their unit owners. Fla. Stat. § 718.111(a) (2013). However, the statute does not specify whether the community association managers contracted by the board, owe a fiduciary duty to the association as […]

Our recent Blog posts on real estate law have discussed the claims a seller of property can bring against a buyer who breaches a real estate sales contract and also the claims a buyer may bring against the seller when a breach has occurred. One post has also covered the seller’s disclosure obligations when entering into a real estate sales contract. These posts have peripherally mentioned the remedy of specific performance without giving much additional detail. This post will delve further into this remedy and discuss when specific performance is available to a buyer or seller when the other party has breached the real estate sales contract.

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In a prior post, this blog discussed the legal claims a seller of real estate can bring against a buyer when that buyer breaches the real estate sales contract. A buyer, on the other hand, also has various legal and equitable claims against the seller of real estate when the seller is unable to convey marketable title or if the seller has a duty to disclose certain defects but fails to make those disclosures. When the seller breaches, the buyer’s claims will largely depend upon the terms of the sales contract, along with the buyer’s underlying goals. This blog post will describe the various legal actions that buyers of real estate can bring against a seller when that seller breaches the real estate sales contract.

Before entering into a contract to sell a piece of real estate to a prospective buyer, a seller is obligated to disclose certain things to the buyer. When the seller fails to make those proper disclosures, the buyer has available several legal and equitable remedies that he or she can bring against that seller. This is because, under Florida law, a seller’s failure to disclose certain conditions is considered a breach of the real estate sales contract. But a seller does not always have a duty to disclose, meaning the buyer is still subject to the doctrine of caveat emptor in some situations. This blog post discusses when the seller of real estate is under a duty to disclose, what the seller is required to disclose and under what circumstances the seller has no obligation to disclose.

In Florida, design-build contracts do not need to identify a licensed architect . This rule was clarified in the recent case of first impression, Diaz & Russell Corporation, et al. v. Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 8113, No. 3D13-1764 (Fla. 3d DCA May 28, 2014). An exception in Section 481.229(3), Florida Statutes, allows contractors to “negotiate” design-build contracts, so long as the negotiating contractor is neither offering to render, nor actually rendering, the architectural services of the project.

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This is the final submission in a series of Blog posts dedicated specifically to explaining delay damages.  This series has covered these damages from beginning to end.  From successfully proving that a delay occurred, while addressing common defenses and discussing the various methods used to calculate delay damages (Part III, […]

Design Professionals, such as architects and engineers, may be subject to malpractice actions arising from their performance of professional services.  The Florida statute of limitations for professional malpractice claims is two years. Unlike other professionals in Florida, design professionals may also be subject to causes of action arising from services […]