DORSET HOUSE ASSOCIATION, INC., A NON-PROFIT FLORIDA CONDOMINIUM CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
DORSET, INC., ETC., ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1979-05-29
No. 78-1810
Before HAVERFIELD, C. J., and PEARSON and SCHWARTZ, JJ.
371 So. 2d 541 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1979) Positive Treatment
Cited by 14 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Dorset House Association sought to foreclose a lien against developer Dorset, Inc. for unpaid condominium maintenance fees. The trial court granted summary judgment for the developer based on an exemption from maintenance payments during the "Developers' Maintenance Period" in the Declaration of Condominium. The appellate court reversed, finding genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the developer actually complied with the maintenance obligations during that period.


Holding

Summary judgment was improper because genuine issues of material fact existed regarding the developer's compliance with maintenance requirements. The amended judgment was also error because proper procedure requires entering summary judgment with leave to amend rather than precluding future claims entirely.


Headnotes

[1] A genuine issue of material fact regarding compliance with a condominium declaration's maintenance exemption provision precludes summary judgment.

[2] Summary judgment should not be granted when a plaintiff's reply to an affirmative defense raises factual disputes not resolved by submitted affidavits.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“We hold that it does not appear without genuine issue of material fact that defendant is entitled to a judgment. An issue of fact arises from the pleadings in the plaintiff's reply to the affirmative defenses concerning the defendant's entitlement to the exemption provided in the Declaration of Condominium.”

Establishes the core holding that summary judgment was improper due to genuine factual disputes about compliance with the Declaration

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Dorset House Association, a condominium corporation, attempted to foreclose a lien against Dorset, Inc., the unit owner and developer, for failure to …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PEARSON, Judge.

PEARSON, Judge.

The plaintiff-appellant sought to foreclose a lien pursuant to Section 711.15, Florida Statutes (1975), for the alleged failure of a condominium owner to pay his proportionate share of the maintenance due. Defendant-appellee Dorset, Inc., the unit owner and developer of the condominium, answered and raised as an affirmative defense the allegation that it (the developer) was not obligated for maintenance payments because of an exemption from payment during the “Developers’ Maintenance Period.” It was alleged that this exemption was a provision of the recorded Declaration of Condominium. After the filing of affidavits, the trial judge granted the defendant’s motion for summary final judgment and entered judgment thereon. Thereafter, the plaintiff moved for a rehearing, and the trial judge entered an amended final judgment providing:

“ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the granting of the Final Summary Judgment in favor of the Defendant, DORSET, INC., and against the Plaintiff, DORSET HOUSE ASSOCIATION, INC., shall not act as estoppel by fact, estoppel by judgment or res judicata in any subsequent action that the Plaintiff herein may cho[o]se to bring against the Defendant, DORSET, INC., which future action may be predicated upon the Plaintiff's claim that the Defendant failed to maintain the subject condominium during the ‘developer’s maintenance period’.”

The trial court wished to make it clear that it was deciding only that the plaintiff did not have a statutory lien against the defendant.

We hold that it does not appear without genuine issue of material fact that defendant is entitled to a judgment. An issue of fact arises from the pleadings in the plaintiff’s reply to the affirmative defenses concerning the defendant’s entitlement to the exemption provided in the Declaration of Condominium. The defendant alleged that it had complied with the requirement of the Declaration of Condominium by maintaining the project during the “Developers’ Maintenance Period.” By its reply, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant had not complied with that provision of the declaration. The issue was not shown to be less than genuine by the affidavits on file.

Therefore, the summary final judgment must be reversed. See the principles of law in Harvey Building, Inc. v. Haley, 175 So. 2d 780 (Fla.1965); and Turner Produce Company v. Lake Shore Growers Cooperative Association, 217 So. 2d 856, 860-861 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969).

In addition, it is our view that the amended summary judgment shows error because even where a summary judgment should be granted but it appears that the plaintiff may have a cause of action not pleaded, the proper procedure is to enter summary judgment but with leave to amend in that suit. See Hart Properties, Inc. v. Slack, 159 So. 2d 236, 240 (Fla.1963); Sorrells v. Mullins, 303 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974); and Bernard Marko & Associates, Inc. v. Steele, 230 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970).

Accordingly, the judgment and amended judgment are reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.

Reversed.

Concurrence
SCHWARTZ, Judge

SCHWARTZ, Judge

(concurring in part).

I agree with the court’s disposition of the issues discussed in Judge Pearson’s opinion. However, I would go further and hold that the affirmative defense that the developer is exempt from the payment of maintenance fees by the terms of the Declaration of Condominium, is insufficient as a matter of law. At the time the condominium documents in issue were executed in 1973,1 the applicable law, Section 711.15 Florida Statutes (1965), provided:

“(1) A unit owner, regardless of how title is acquired, . . . shall be liable for all assessments coming due while he is the owner of a unit.”

See Margate Village Condominium Assoc. Inc. v. Wilfred, Inc., 350 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Century 21 Commodore Plaza, Inc. v. Commodore Plaza at Century 21 Condominium Assoc., Inc., 340 So. 2d 945 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), cert. denied, 354 So. 2d 979 (Fla.1978). In my view, the contractual exemption is invalid and unenforceable as in conflict with this legislative enactment. Local No. 234 v. Henley & Beckwith, Inc., 66 So. 2d 818 (Fla.1953). Therefore, I would direct that on remand the affirmative defense be stricken.

. Only in 1976 did the legislature authorize a developer-maintenance period-exemption from assessments, such as that asserted below. Sec. 718.116, Fla.Stat. (1977).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Coudry v. City OF Titusville, 438 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)
    …65 So. 2d 21 at 42. . See Purinson v. Antenna Specialists Co., 408 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), pet. den. 418 So. 2d 1278 (Fla.1982); First Nat. Bank of Tampa v. Pappas, 372 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Dorset House Ass’n, Inc. v. Dorset, Inc., 371 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Thompson Aircraft Tire Corp., 353 So. 2d 137 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), appeal añer remand 382 So. 2d 878 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Schurkman v. Stolar, 347 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Forte v. Tripp & Skrip,…
  • Brooks v. Palm BAY Towers Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 375 So. 2d 348 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
    …5), which provides in pertinent part: “A unit owner, regardless of how title is acquired . . . shall be liable for all assessments coming due while he is the owner of a unit.” 4 In our recent holding Dorset House Association, Inc. v. Dorset, Inc., 371 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), involving foreclosure of a lien pursuant to Section 711.15, Florida Statutes (1975) for the alleged failure of the unit owner/developer to pay his proportionate share of the maintenance due, this court reversed the summary judgme…
  • Sunshine Kitchens, Inc. v. Mallin, 388 So. 2d 1260 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …ing balance method if, inter alia, “the original use of such property commences with the taxpayer.” .Gold Coast Crane Service, Inc. v. Watier, supra, dictates this form. We may have overlooked this in Dorset House Association, Inc. v. Dorset, Inc., 371 So. 2d 541 (Fla.3d DCA 1979), and Keyes Company v. Executive Center, Inc., 311 So. 2d 734 (Fla.3d DCA 1975), where we reversed the summary judgment.…

Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw