Disputes between community associations and their members are common. These disputes may evolve into lawsuits. In some instances, the plaintiffs in these lawsuits attempt to hold the directors or officers personally liable for damages. Luckily for the directors and officers, the business judgment rule shields them from personal liability, unless they breach a fiduciary duty.
Vandalism has been an issue with both condominiums and homeowners associations for as long as these communities have existed. As you can expect, instances of vandalism seem to increase during the summer months when kids are out of school. Vandalism can be relatively minor and easily repaired—like soap suds in […]
Another Florida hurricane season kicks off on the first of June. Is your community association prepared? Many condominium associations around the State are still recovering from a lack of hurricane preparedness before last year’s season. Do not let this happen to your community association this year! Understand your emergency powers […]
On March 23, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed into law the 2018 legislative changes to the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act. These changes become law on July 1, 2018. This blog post provides a detailed summary of these statutory amendments affecting Florida’s homeowners’ associations: Official Records: Excludes from the official records […]
For community associations, when an owner goes into foreclosure, the best-case scenario is that the bank or mortgagee moves the property swiftly through the foreclosure process, and a new owner then takes possession and begins paying the assessments as they come due. In the absolute best cases, the foreclosure process […]
The minutes of any meeting of the Board of Directors for a Condominium Association or a Homeowners’ Association are public records per Florida law. The minutes are required to be kept for 7 years. Fla. Stat. 718.111(12); Fla. Stat. 720.303(4). The minutes are the most requested and most useful of […]
Florida is synonymous with condominium living as a way of life. It’s also synonymous with hurricanes. Hurricanes have largely shaped Florida’s construction industry in that the building code is shaped and modeled after the building of structures that can withstand the storms. The building code creates certain high wind zones […]
The 2017 legislative amendments to the Condominium Act and Homeowners Association Act are substantial. On July 1st, the 2017 amendments to the Florida Statutes affecting community associations became effective. This post is Part II (click here for part I) in a three-part blog series detailing these legislative amendments and focuses […]
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision in the matter of Gonzalez v. Int’l Park Condominium I Association, Inc. that is instructive for associations and their attorneys when associations become involved in litigation and seek payment of their fees from the home or unit owner. The […]