Fort Lauderdale East Partner Craig Minko and Associate Natalia Morales recently obtained a very significant victory for one of our South Florida community association clients after engaging in nearly 2 years of highly contested litigation; namely, full and final judgment on the pleadings.
A tenant sued the association for breach of a lease agreement with his landlord and violations of Chapter 83, Florida Statutes. Our CSK team filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings on the basis that the community association was not the tenant’s “landlord” under Chapter 83 and was otherwise not a party to the lease agreement, and successfully argued this position at a case management conference in anticipation of a jury trial. The tenant’s main defense was an attempt to amend his complaint. The Court ultimately denied the tenant’s motion and ruled in our client’s favor on all counts, entering full and final judgment in our client’s favor. Our client now has a basis to recover its attorneys’ fees and costs against tenant, and potentially the tenant’s lawyer.
This ruling establishes a critical legal distinction, clarifying that, under the current language of Chapter 83, community associations cannot be considered the “landlord” of tenants renting from the unit owners, and that lease agreements between unit owners and their tenants do not incorporate community associations as parties to the agreements. This precedent should certainly have a positive and lasting impact on community associations throughout South Florida.
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