Recent Court Rulings

Facts: A condominium association signed three service agreements with a company that provided management, security, and property services. According to the contracts, the company was to provide standard residential cleaning, maintenance, and concierge services to all common areas.

When the association did not pay the company, the company filed a lien against the association and more than 100 condominium units. The trial court granted a judgment without a trial in the company's favor and foreclosed on the lien.

Facts: The president of a condominium association and her father, the association manager, sued a group of members for defamation. The president alleged that the members conspired to remove her from the board. The complaint alleged that from August 2006 until May 2007, the members maliciously made false and defamatory statements about her and her father to other condominium owners in the building. The complaint further alleged that “throughout 2006 and 2007, defendants continued to make false and defamatory statements.”

Facts: A developer purchased 418 apartments, common areas, and common facilities in 2004 and converted the apartments to condominiums in 2005. In the course of making the property a condominium project, the developer recorded governing documents that required that the homeowners association arbitrate any construction defect claim the association might have against the developer. The governing documents provided that the association came into existence upon the sale of the first condominium.

Facts: A member sued the condo association, the management company, and the association's landscape contractor for negligence. The member alleges that the landscaper negligently and carelessly spread and blew mulch near the member's condominium. As a result, dust from the mulch accumulated in the condominium, aggravating the member's preexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease condition.

Facts: A Florida condominium community was damaged by a hurricane. However, its insurer's estimate of damages didn't exceed the deductible for the property, so the insurer made no payment to the association.

Facts: Under an association's governing documents, a purchaser had to pay at least 10 percent of the purchase price on the property with financing not to exceed 90 percent of the purchase price. A prospective buyer agreed to purchase a condominium for $55,000. She intended to pay $35,000 with funds from State Housing Initiatives Program (SHIP). Unlike bank loans, the recipient of SHIP money need not pay it back.

Facts: A member had a leaky sewer pipe two feet beneath the concrete slab underlying his condominium. The leak was discovered when liquid seeped up into the floors and carpet of the member's unit. The leak was reported to the association's president, who called property management, who then sent a plumber to make repairs.

Facts: A property manager wrote to a member, asserting that she was in violation of the community's governing documents by keeping a bird in her condominium and permitting it to chatter and whistle to the annoyance of other members. She was given two weeks to remove the bird or the association board would begin fining her $10 per day. The manager again wrote to her a month later, notifying her that fines were being assessed against her unit at the rate of $10 per day.

Facts: An investor bought eight condominium units within an association, giving him approximately 18 percent ownership of the building. The investor consistently paid maintenance fees for common expenses, and he also paid special assessments as needed for roofing repairs and painting.

At one point, the board met to discuss a special assessment for replacing the siding in the building. The members who attended this meeting did not object to the proposed special assessment, and the board approved the replacement of the siding of all the units in the building.

Facts: A member suffers from a paralyzed diaphragm and a thyroid disorder. These conditions limit her ability to walk significant distances without shortness of breath. The member qualifies for and uses a disabled parking permit. Also, diaphragm paralysis is a disability covered by the protections of the Fair Housing Act because the condition substantially limits one or more of the member's daily life activities.