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Nick-Siegfried-2013-thumb-120x180-61267jmilesThe firm’s Joseph A. Miles and Nicholas D. Siegfried were featured in an article in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper, about a major verdict that they recently secured for one of the firm’s clients.  The article, which is titled “South Florida Lawyers Win $4.1M for Cable Company Fired Over Service Delays,” focuses on their work in securing the verdict for an affiliate of Miami-based OpticalTel in a case involving the company’s wrongful termination by a Central Florida HOA.  The article reads:

Coral Gables lawyers Joseph A. Miles and Nicholas D. Siegfried landed a $4.1 million verdict for Miami-based company PC Services LLC, which claimed the Cascades of Groveland Homeowners’ Association Inc. in Lake County should never have terminated an agreement with the company because it wasn’t responsible for a flurry of delays and problems with services.

The 2012 lawsuit arose from years of bad blood between the parties over a deal that turned sour. On July 2007, the homeowner association terminated its contract with PC Services, claiming it had failed to properly do its job. But PC Services argued it had and lost the opportunity to make a profit on its $1.6 million investment.

The defense argued it was right to terminate the agreement because it didn’t get what PC Services promised.

dbrlogo-300x57Defense lawyers Aristides J. Diaz and Thomas R. Slaten Jr. of Larsen & Associates in Orlando did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.

Making the case was no small feat for the Siegfried Rivera lawyers, as it was laced with technical jargon that would likely stump the average juror.

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ElizabethBowen-srhl-law-2-200x300Firm shareholder Elizabeth A. Bowen authored an article that appeared as the “Board of Contributors” guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Suit Against Association for Emotional Support Animal Denial Sends Message to Fla. Condos, HOAs,” discusses the implications of a recent lawsuit by Broward County against a Lauderhill condominium association for alleged violations of fair housing laws over its denial of an emotional support animal for a unit owner.  Her article reads:

Emotional support animals have been in the news quite a bit during the last couple of years. There have been reports of airline passengers boarding with a peacock, hamster, pig, a duck wearing a diaper and a squirrel. As a result, companies have started to change their policies, and the public’s attitudes and perceptions toward ESAs also appear to be changing.

Frontier Airlines recently announced its new policy to allow only cats and dogs as emotional support animals. It joined Spirit Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines, which have all tightened their policies on ESAs this year. Publix also banned them from its stores and posted signs reading: “For food safety reasons, only service animals that are specifically trained to aid a person with disabilities are permitted within the store.”

esupdog-300x234These new policies and signs have raised awareness of the perceived abuse of ESAs by people trying to take advantage of federal disability laws in order to take their pets into businesses. As a result of the growing skepticism, community association boards of directors can easily fall into the trap of disregarding requests for accommodations for ESAs and summarily rejecting them.

A recent lawsuit by Broward County against a Lauderhill condominium association illustrates the potential pitfalls of such uninformed actions by associations. The county filed suit in federal court against the Environ Towers I Condominium Association seeking damages and injunctive relief for its alleged violation of federal fair housing laws as well as the Broward County Human Rights Act. Continue reading

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Michael-Hyman-srhl-lawThe firm’s Michael L. Hyman authored an article that appeared as the “Board of Contributors” guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “$7.5M Verdict Against Condo Association Should Have Been Prevented,” discusses the multi-million dollar verdict in a case involving a hot tub accident at a St. Petersburg, Florida, condominium and the potential ramifications that can result when any defects in community amenities are not properly addressed.  Michael’s article reads:

In 2008, Ehab Mina was about to step into the hot tub at the Boca Ciega Resort & Marina Condominium when he became startled to see that it was partially drained. The problem in the hot tub caused the 44-year-old to slip, and he badly injured his right shoulder and spine.

Mina required multiple surgeries, and he was ultimately forced to sell his boat-building business as a result of his injuries. He filed suit against the association and its property management company, Condos by Sirata Inc., alleging that the hot tub should have had a posted warning and adequate lighting in the evening hours.

bciega-300x206The attorneys for the condominium association responded by arguing that the half-empty hot tub was an obvious condition, but the jury found the association and its management company to be jointly liable.  It awarded a $7.56 million verdict to Mina.

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MTobacksrhl-law2-200x300The firm’s Michael Toback authored an article that was featured as the “Board of Contributors” guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Case to Watch: HUD Complaint Against Condo Association Ban on Religious Meetings,” focuses on a recent complaint to the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding alleged Fair Housing Act violations by a Florida condominium association that banned religious meetings from its community room.  Michael’s article reads:

Bans of any kind against the use of the community room, such as those for specific gatherings, should be considered only after prudent consultation with experienced legal counsel. Furthermore, a ban against religious gatherings can prove particularly troublesome due to the potential for violations of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Such cautious considerations may have been overlooked in the decision by a board of directors of a Port Charlotte condo association to prohibit prayers and religious meetings in their community’s common room. The ban by the association for the Cambridge House of Port Charlotte led to the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development alleging violations of the federal Fair Housing Act as well as Florida condominium laws.

The complaint was filed on March 6 on behalf of Cambridge House resident Donna Dunbar, who is a lay minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the leader of a women’s Bible study group that formerly met in the Cambridge House common room for two hours on Monday mornings. It alleges that on Feb. 6 the Cambridge House’s board of directors adopted a resolution to prohibit prayers, religious services and religious meetings in the common areas.

The allegations also state that Dunbar and her Bible study group faced discrimination before the Cambridge House prohibited their meetings, claiming that the board of directors had previously required her to purchase insurance in order to hold the gatherings. Dunbar claims this requirement was despite the Cambridge House not mandating that other groups holding movie and game nights obtain similar coverage.

Dunbar_Piano_Image-1-300x225After the ban was imposed, Dunbar alleges that religious displays at Cambridge House were removed, including the removal by property management staff of a St. Francis of Assisi fountain and statue. Dunbar further claims that a sign was posted on an organ in the lobby declaring: “ANY AND ALL CHRISTIAN MUSIC IS BANNED!”

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EvonneAndris-srhl-law-200x300Firm shareholder Evonne Andris authored an article that was featured as the “My View” guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Miami Herald’s Business Monday, the newspaper’s weekly business supplement.  The article focuses on the brouhaha that drew considerable media attention in Orlando earlier this year involving an HOA’s dispute with a homeowner family over a “Little Free Library” book-sharing box installed in the front yard of their home.  Evonne’s article reads:

The library in question is a red wood box that resembles a birdhouse and is mounted on a sturdy wood post. The box, which is 24 inches tall, 20 inches deep and 24 inches wide, is part of the “Little Free Library” (www.littlefreelibrary.org) nonprofit organization’s network of free book exchange boxes that encourage reading and enable people to share books with their community. While popular in the central part of the state, there are approximately 10 Little Free Libraries in the South Florida area and more than 60,000 Little Free Libraries across the country.

agarik-1024x576The news reports indicate that within a few days of homeowners Bob and Autumn Garick installing the library box in their front yard, the property manager for Bentley Woods wrote to thank them for their efforts and suggest that they move the box to a common area in the neighborhood. The Garicks declined the offer, noting that the suggested area was about a half-mile from their home and would make it impractical for them to maintain the library.  Pictured here are the Garicks with their Little Free Library (photo courtesy, Autumn Huff Garick).

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Nicole-Kurtz-2014-200x300The firm’s Nicole R. Kurtz authored an article that is featured as a Board of Contributor’s guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Court: Association Declaration’s Reference to Alterations Encompasses Material Alterations,” focuses on a recent ruling that illustrates how Florida courts will turn to the plain and unambiguous meanings of terms in interpreting a community association’s governing documents.  For associations with declarations of condominium stating that the board of directors has the authority to approve alterations to the common elements, the decision emphasizes that such authority extends to all additions or improvements to the association’s common elements, including material alterations.  Nicole’s article reads:

. . . In 2016, the [Regency Tower condominium] association’s board of directors voted, without obtaining membership approval, to replace the existing Carrara marble flooring in the lobby with ceramic tile flooring. In response, one of the association’s unit owners challenged the board of directors’ authority to replace the lobby flooring without first obtaining approval from the association’s members.

The unit owner asserted his challenge by filing a petition for arbitration with the state’s Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes. After the petition was dismissed by the arbitrator, he filed a lawsuit against the association in circuit court.

dbr-logo-300x57The owner’s position, in both the arbitration and the lawsuit, was that the association’s declaration of condominium did not include a provision detailing the procedure for approving “material alterations,” as it only referenced the board of directors’ authority to approve “alterations.” As such, the owner argued that Section 718.113(2)(a), Florida Statutes, which is triggered should there not be a procedure in an association’s declaration of condominium for the approval of material alterations, applied and precluded the board of directors from being able to unilaterally approve of the lobby flooring modification.

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MichaelHymanFirm shareholder Michael L. Hyman authored an article that appeared as a “Board of Contributors” guest commentary column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Circuit, Appellate Courts Issue Injunction Against HOA to Fix Flooding Problems,” focuses on recent decisions by circuit and appellate courts that illustrate how Florida’s courts will issue mandatory injunctions to force community associations to do their duty to maintain drainage systems.  The article reads:

The case of Coconut Key Homeowner’s Association v. Gonzalez pitted a homeowner against her HOA, which she alleged breached its governing documents by failing to properly maintain the surface water management system for the community. This caused chronic flooding problems in her own backyard whenever it rained and led to significant damage to her home.

Gonzalez sought an injunction to require the association to cure the alleged surface water management violations and stop the flooding problem. A Broward circuit court jury ruled in her favor, concluding that the association breached its governing documents by failing to maintain and operate the surface water management system in the community. However, it concluded that this breach was not a legal cause of damage to Gonzalez, so it awarded no monetary damages.

dbrlogo-300x57The court then conducted a post-trial hearing on whether to issue an injunction against the association. It granted Gonzalez’s motion for a mandatory injunction in accord with the jury’s finding that the HOA’s violations of its own governing documents caused her irreparable harm without an adequate remedy under the law.

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GaryMars3For the second consecutive day, an article on important community association issues authored by one of our partners has served as the featured guest commentary column in the pages of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article in today’s edition of the newspaper is by Gary M. Mars, and it is titled “Community Associations Should Make Effective Use of Social Media.”  Gary’s article reads:

There is no doubt that the use of social media can save community associations time and money with some of their communications and outreach efforts aimed at their owners and residents. Adding new posts with photos and videos to an association’s social media pages is simple and free, and millions of Americans are now visiting Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and others on a daily basis.

Some associations are now including community calendars in their Facebook group site as well as meeting notices, agendas and notes. dbr-logo-300x57These group pages are also ideal for posting links to copies of annual reports, community bylaws, and other helpful items and forms.

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Firm partner Michael E. Chapnick authored a guest commentary column that appeared in today’s Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Condo Associations Don’t Need to Record Lien to Collect From Tax Sale Proceeds,” focuses on a recent appellate court ruling which found that condominium associations do not absolutely need to record a lien in order to collect from the surplus funds after a tax sale.  Michael’s article reads:

In Calendar v. Stonebridge Gardens Section III Condominium Association, the Fourth District Court of Appeal concluded that the association was not required to actually file a lien in order to be entitled to priority over the unit owner in the distribution of surplus funds generated by the tax sale of her residence.

MC-article-5-18-300x220In upholding the trial court’s order that surplus funds from the tax sale of the owner’s residence be disbursed to the association based on its claim for unpaid assessments, the Fourth DCA found that Section 718.116 of the Florida Statutes implies that a claim of lien against a unit owner for assessments becomes necessary only in cases in which a mortgagee is also asserting a claim. Therefore, recording a claim of lien is not an absolute prerequisite to the enforcement of a lien for unpaid assessments.

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LLerner-DBR-profile-300x275The firm’s Lisa A. Lerner was the subject of a profile article in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper.  The article, which is titled “Attorney Lisa Lerner Chose Condo Law Before it Was a Popular Practice Area,” chronicles Lisa’s 36-year career as one of the pioneer female South Florida attorneys in community association law.  It reads:

Lisa Lerner is a pioneer on two fronts. She became an attorney when the legal profession was dominated by men, and she picked a practice area that was relatively obscure at the time.

Lerner became an attorney for community associations in 1983. She has spent her 36-year career with Siegfried Rivera, where she now is a shareholder based in Coral Gables.

In the 1980s, the field wasn’t entirely devoid of women. Lerner worked with a few, and there were some in other firms, she said.

But during most meetings with opposing counsel, she was the only female attorney, she said.

One meeting stands out in her memory.

“I am not going to name names, but a senior partner for one of the most prominent law firms … call(ed) me honey and asked me to get him coffee,” Lerner said. With a smile, she agreed, “then sat down, and we proceeded to expose every loophole in the easement agreement they drafted.”

Her team got everything it wanted for the condo board it represented, she said.

“You kind of had to be there.”

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