Blogs & Resources

This author recently addressed the issue of deposing high level corporate officers, also known as apex employees. That blog post pointed out that, while the federal courts and some state courts have specifically adopted what is known as the “apex doctrine”, Florida’s courts have not specifically done so; our courts mostly follow the tenets of the doctrine, but it has not specifically been adopted, and some courts decline to follow that principle.

Featured in the April 2017 Issue Partner’s Perspective: Honesty is the Keystone of Business Suzanne Clark Speaks at UF E-Discovery Conference Kayla Haines Speaks at National Conference of Law Reviews Partner Brad Hughes Completes All American Air Table Tennis Classic New Law Blogs Curiosities, Ruminations and Various Eccentricities of Firm […]

On March 30, 2017, the Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 377. The Bill is still working its way through the Senate, but has received a favorable response and is predicted to pass. If it becomes law, HB 377 will amend the construction defect statute of repose to clarify that the “date of completion of the contract” is the date that final payment becomes due.

You have created your business plan and now you are ready to put your plan into motion and start your own company. The next step is to consider which business structure suits your business. A business can be structured as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, S-corporation, or a limited liability company. The limited liability company structure boasts many advantages, but also brings with it some disadvantages to consider.

Reserve funding for certain common element items is required for community associations under Florida law. Specifically, condominium associations must fund reserves for roof replacement, building painting, pavement resurfacing and any other item that has a maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeding $10,000. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(f). For homeowners’ associations, if the developer initially established reserve accounts or the members affirmatively elect to provide for reserves, then the association must fund those reserve items in future budgets. Fla. Stat. § 720.303(6)(b).

Hans Wahl shares “What community association leaders should know about the FHA and ADA.”

Eminent domain proceedings are legal proceedings brought by the government, or an entity acting on behalf of the government, to seize private property for public purposes. The government has the right to seize private property for public use only if the property owner receives full compensation. During the eminent domain proceedings, the issue typically turns on whether the landowner has received a fair appraisal in order to receive full compensation for land. Oftentimes, a property is not properly appraised and just compensation is not offered. While the following list below is not an exclusive list, these are common deficiencies that landowners and landowner attorneys can look for when evaluating the adequacy of the government’s real estate valuation.

A well thought out and properly drafted LLC operating agreement will deliver deadlock-breaking mechanisms that will aid the members of LLCs in avoiding the need for expensive, prolonged, and disrupting litigation. However, if the operating agreement fails to deliver deadlock-breaking mechanisms or these mechanisms fail, resorting to the judiciary and alternative dispute resolution offers members flexible substitutes to achieve a resolution through adversary proceedings.

Earlier this year the Third District Court of Appeals narrowed two significant unit owner defenses to enforcement actions, selective enforcement and waiver/estoppel when it decided Laguna Tropical, a Condominium Association, Inc. v. Barnave, Case No. 3D16–1531 (Fla. 3d DCA January 25, 2017). For more on the doctrine of Selective Enforcement, please review our October 2014 blog posting.

Community association board members and managers are often so preoccupied ensuring compliance with state and local laws that they can sometimes overlook controlling federal law. Multiple federal statutory acts can apply to community associations in any given situation and overlooking those federal laws can have costly consequences. One such area of federal law that governs every community association at all times is the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”).