Florida HOA Lawyer Blog
Condo & HOA Board Members May be
Neglecting the Duties You are Owed
Are you concerned that the developer of your condominium did not deliver on the promises made to you when you purchased your condominium unit? Are you concerned with the construction of the condominium in which you live? For most individuals the purchase of a condominium unit can be their most important investment. However, many of the decisions impacting this investment are not up to the owner of the unit, but rather they are left up to a board of directors controlling the association.
At a specified time, the developer of a condominium is required to relinquish control of the association’s board of directors in favor of the unit owners. The turnover of an association from developer to the unit owners presents the first opportunity for the association’s board to hire a lawyer, an accountant and an engineer to perform important and time-sensitive inspections of the condominium. These inspections will identify construction defects and other concerns that may exist. As such, it should not be surprising that a developer would want a “friendly” association board of directors following turnover. But imagine the havoc an unscrupulous developer could inflict if the association’s newly elected board — or the attorney and engineer working for the unit owners — have financial ties to the developer.
A recent Miami-Dade grand jury report found that there was extensive fraud, mismanagement, stacking of boards and conflicts of interest among condominium association boards (click here for the complete report). Such misconduct is not limited to Miami-Dade, however. Perhaps surprisingly, one of the largest public corruption cases set in the fast-paced, scheming neon desert notoriously dubbed “Sin City” did not involve the usual Las Vegas suspects, but rather a contractor, a lawyer, and a stacked board of condominium directors. In 2015, Leon Benzer, a construction company boss, was sentenced to 15 and a half years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to take control of association boards for the purpose of channeling construction defect repairs to Benzer’s company. Benzer’s scheme involved a network of recruited purchasers and real estate agents who would get elected to association boards, hire Benzer’s attorney, and award lucrative contracts to Benzer’s construction company. Through these unethical practices, these individuals violated the duties owed to the association and its unit owners.
Condominium unit owners are considered shareholders of the association, and act in a fiduciary relationship to each owner. In such relationships, the law demands a higher than ordinary degree of care from each director and officer, with Florida law specifically demanding directors to discharge their duties in good faith. Simply put, directors should act to protect the best interests of the association and its unit owners, rather than their personal interests or those of affiliated third parties. The actions of the board members in Benzer’s scheme were in complete disregard of the unit owners’ rights, as they participated in rigging elections and seeking only personal gain.