Blogs & Resources

Florida’s Condominium Act provides that associations have the power to make and collect assessments from unit owners, so long as such power is designated in the association’s declaration. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g). The board also has the authority to meet each year to discuss the association’s budget and to increase the assessment amount charged to each unit owner if the budget so requires in order for the association to remain solvent. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(e). These assessments are levied to cover the common expenses incurred by the association, which are ultimately the responsibility of each unit owner pursuant to Florida Statutes and most association declarations. See Fla. Stat. § 715.118(2). The phrase “common expenses,” as used in this context, is a legal term defined by the Condominium Act. This blog post explores that definition of common expenses, including what falls under the definition as it relates to condominium associations and unit owner assessments.

Condominium associations experience turnover within their board of administration every few years, on average. Every now and then, for various reasons, unit owners desire to recall a specific board member after he or she has been elected. Section 718.112(2)(j), Florida Statutes, provides for the rules and procedures that an association must follow to recall one of its board members. That section is contained within the required provisions of Florida’s Condominium Act, meaning that these rules and procedures for recall are deemed included within each association’s bylaws. This blog post discusses what every association should know about recalling board members, according to the Florida Statutes.

Contingent payment provisions, often referred to as “pay if paid” or “pay when paid” provisions, are commonplace in subcontracts and lower tiered contracts. An often overlooked question that should be asked is, “Are they enforceable?” As is true with most questions in the law, the answer is, “It depends.” This Blog will focus on the enforceability of contingent payment provisions.

Jimerson Birr featured for its unique employee morale program and client appreciation marketing ideas.

Featured in the December 2013 Issue Partner’s Perspective J&C Attorney Named Top Attorney Unver 40 in the State by the ASLA New Law Blogs Curiosities, Ruminations and Various Eccentricities of Firm Biz Click to read.

On September 20, 2013, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal issued an opinion in the case of Cricket Properties, LLC v. Nassau Pointe at Heritage Isles Homeowners Association, Inc. This opinion is of great importance to all community associations across the state of Florida as it concerns an association’s ability to enforce liens for unpaid assessments when there has been an issuance of a tax deed on the subject property. According to Florida’s Second DCA, an association lien for unpaid assessments does not survive the issuance of a tax deed. Cricket Properties, LLC v. Nassau Pointe at Heritage Isles Homeowners’ Ass’n Inc., No. 2D12-6194 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013).

This blog post is the fifth in a series of posts that will discuss Florida’s Revised Limited Liability Company Act, which was passed into law in June 2013 and is codified in Chapter 605, Florida Statutes. The Revised Act takes effect January 1, 2014 for all LLCs formed after that date. For LLCs formed prior to 2014, the Revised Act becomes mandatory on January 1, 2015. Although much of Florida law governing LLCs remains the same under the Revised Act, there are significant changes that managers and members of LLCs should be aware of and that may require revisions to existing operating agreements. This post focuses on the rights of members and managers to take distributions from LLCs, along with discussing liability for improper distributions.

A concern regarding the cleanliness of our water supply is not a new issue. Litigation revolving around the cleanliness of our water supply is increasing daily thanks in part to hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing—often referred to as “fracking” or “hydrofracking”—and horizontal drilling are not new ways to produce oil and gas; the use of hydrofracking has simply increased recently. Hydrofracking was first tested in 1903, and first used commercially in 1948. By 1988 hydrofracking had been applied to one million wells, and currently about 35,000 wells per year experience some measure of hydrofracking. As the use of hydrofracking has increased so have the concerns, resulting in an increase in related litigation. Part of the explanation for the increased hydrofracking litigation is because fracking is now being used in jurisdictions that are not familiar with oil and gas drilling. A majority of the litigation revolves around concerns of the potential effects on groundwater and chemical composition of the liquids used in hydrofracking, but property, tort, and contract claims have grown exponentially in relation to hydrofracking. This Blog post seeks to explore the top 5 hottest legal issues in hydraulic fracturing litigation.

This blog post is the fourth in a series of posts that will discuss Florida’s Revised Limited Liability Company Act, which was passed into law in June 2013 and is codified in Chapter 605, Florida Statutes. The Revised Act takes effect January 1, 2014 for all LLCs formed after that date. For LLCs formed prior to 2014, the Revised Act becomes mandatory on January 1, 2015. Although much of Florida law governing LLCs remains the same under the Revised Act, there are significant changes that managers and members of LLCs should be aware of and that may require revisions to existing operating agreements. This post focuses on the changes to Florida law concerning the indemnification of members and managers of LLCs.

We are often asked by clients in corporate disputes how they can maximize value when they are a minority interest holder of a Limited Liability Company when the LLC operating agreement authorizes the Board, at its discretion, to repurchase a member’s interest at book value. In short, there are primarily […]