SIDNEY KOHL AND DOROTHY KOHL, HIS WIFE, AND LANDMARK FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF FORT LAUDERDALE, AS TRUSTEE, APPELLANTS,
v.
BAY COLONY CLUB CONDOMINIUM, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, NOT FOR PROFIT, ALBERT A. LUCY AND ROSELIND G. LUCY, HIS WIFE, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE CLASS, APPELLEES
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal addresses whether a pre-trial order determining that a condominium association and unit owners have standing to bring a class action is appealable as a non-final order. The court reverses its prior precedent and holds that orders determining class certification are appealable interlocutory orders affecting jurisdiction over absent class members.
An order determining class certification is a non-final order that is appealable under Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 9.130 because it determines the jurisdiction of the court over absent class members who will be bound by the judgment.
[1] An order determining that a party has standing to maintain a class action is a non-final order that is appealable under Rule 9.130, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.
[2] A condominium association has the substantive right to bring a class action under appropriate circumstances as provided by statute.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In a class action the plaintiff is asserting the right to litigate on behalf of a class of persons not joined with him in the action.”
Establishes the fundamental nature and purpose of class action litigation
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA condominium association and individual condominium unit owners sought to bring a class action lawsuit against Bay Colony Club Condominium, Inc. The …
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HERSEY, Judge.
By Petition for Writ of Common Law Certiorari we are asked to review certain pre-trial orders determining that a condominium association and the owners of a condominium unit have standing to maintain a class action.
Applying standards frequently reiterated by this Court we determine that the writ should not issue. It has not been demonstrated either that the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction or that the essential requirements of law and procedural due process have been violated. See G-W Development Corp. v. Village of Palm Beach, 317 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975).
However, the fact that petitioners seek the wrong remedy is not fatal to their endeavor. We have authority to provide another remedy if one is available. Fla.R. App.P. 9.040(c).
The question then becomes whether a determination that plaintiffs have standing to pursue a class action is such a non-final order as will support an interlocutory appeal. We answered this question in the negative in Atreco-Florida, Inc. v. Berliner, 360 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). The fifth district followed our lead in American Heritage Institutional Securities, Inc. v. Price, 379 So. 2d 420 (1980) (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). We propose to revisit the question.
The substantive right of a condominium association to bring a class action under appropriate circumstances is embodied in Subsection 718.111(2), Florida Statutes (1979). The procedural machinery for exercising that right is established by Rule 1.220(b), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. See In re Rule 1.220(b), 353 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 1977).
In a class action the plaintiff is asserting the right to litigate on behalf of a class of persons not joined with him in the action. Frankel v. City of Miami Beach, 340 So. 2d 463 (Fla.1977). The court obtains personal jurisdiction over the members of the class.
When the court permits a class suit to be brought or defended by one or more of the class, it necessarily follows that absent parties are properly represented and are bound by the decree. Tenny v. City of Miami Beach, 152 Fla. 126, 11 So. 2d 188 (1942).
It follows that an order determining a class is a non-final order which determines jurisdiction of the person, appealable under Rule 9.130, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Of necessity we recede from our contrary holding in Atreco-Florida, supra.
Petitioners, now appellants, shall file their initial brief and appendix within fifteen days from the filing of this opinion and subsequent events required or permitted by Rule 9.130, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure shall be governed accordingly.
LETTS, C. J., and DOWNEY, J., concur.
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Nat'l Lake Developments, Inc. v. Lake Tippecanoe Owners Ass'n, Inc., 417 So. 2d 655 (Fla. 1982)…petition for review of the decision of the court below, National Lake Developments, Inc. v. Lake Tippecanoe Owners Association, 395 [*656] So. 2d 592 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981), on the ground that it conflicts with Kohl v. Bay Colony Club Condominium, Inc., 385 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla.Const. Lake Tippecanoe is a residential community. The dwellings there are owned in the condominium form of ownership. Lake Tippecanoe Owners Association, Inc., is, as its name sugge…1 / 2
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Nat'l Lake Developments, Inc. v. Lake Tippecanoe Owners Ass'n, Inc., 395 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)…order. Thus, we have jurisdiction to consider it only if it is in one of the categories of nonfinal orders listed in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130. A recent Fourth District Court of Appeal case, Kohl v. Bay Colony Club Condominium, Inc., 385 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980), holds that it is. But see American Heritage Institutional Securities, Inc. v. Price, 379 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). In Kohl, the defendants sought review of pretrial orders holding that a condominium association and owners…
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Maner Props., Inc. v. Siksay, 489 So. 2d 842 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…, Chief Judge. Maner Properties, Inc., owner of Holly Lake Mobile Home Park, appeals an order certifying the class in an action brought by residents and lot owners of the park. Such an order is appealable. Kohl v. Bay Colony Club Condominium, Inc., 385 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). Of the three plaintiffs who filed the multi-count complaint only appellee, Barbara Felton, remained in the action and it was she who was certified as representative of the class. At the initial hearing on Felton’s qualification…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Tenney v. City of Miami Beach, 152 Fla. 126 (Fla. 1942)
- Frankel v. City OF Miami Beach, 340 So. 2d 463 (Fla. 1976)
- G-W Dev. Corp. v. The Vill. OF N. Palm Beach Zoning Bd. OF Adjustment & Mader & Ryan, Inc., 317 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- THE Fla. BAR. In re Rule 1.220(b), 353 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 1977)
- T & T Trucking Co. & Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. McWILLIAMS, 379 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Brunicarde v. State, 360 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)