COVE CLUB INVESTORS, LTD., A FLORIDA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP AND COVE CLUB GENERAL INC., AND CHARLES C. CROSSWHITE, AS ITS GENERAL PARTNERS, COVE CLUB MANAGEMENT, INC., D/B/A SANDALFOOT COVE COUNTRY CLUB AND CHARLES C. CROSSWHITE, INDIVIDUALLY, APPELLANTS,
v.
SANDALFOOT ASSOCIATES, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1982-12-08
No. 81-1797
LETTS, C.J., and DELL, J., concur.
425 So. 2d 559 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1982) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

This case concerns whether a Declaration of Use Restrictions imposed duties on property owners to utilize recreational facilities and pay associated fees. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Sandalfoot Associates, but the appellate court reversed, finding genuine issues of material fact precluded summary judgment on the interpretation of the Declaration's ambiguous language.


Holding

The court held that the Declaration was ambiguous on all three points and genuine issues of material fact existed, precluding summary judgment. The court concluded that paragraph 7 of the Declaration's language regarding duty to utilize facilities was not sufficiently clear, that 'apartment' and 'townhouse' are not mutually exclusive as a matter of law, and that the enforcement language was permissive rather than exclusive to condominium entities.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's interpretation of a declaration of use restrictions is subject to reversal if genuine issues of material fact exist regarding its meaning.

[2] Where parties offer different but reasonable interpretations of a declaration's language, the issue becomes one of fact precluding summary judgment.

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

“Where each of the parties suggests a different but reasonable interpretation of the language of the Declaration on this point, the issue is one of fact which precludes summary judgment.”

Establishes the standard that ambiguous contract language presenting competing reasonable interpretations cannot be resolved by summary judgment

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

Cove Club Investors and related parties owned property subject to a Declaration of Use Restrictions that imposed duties to use parcels for recreationa…

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
HERSEY, Judge.

HERSEY, Judge.

The final summary judgment which is the subject of this appeal construed a Declaration of Use Restrictions in favor of the plaintiff class and determined that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact. In so ruling the trial court necessarily found the Declaration was clear and unambiguous on its face, precluding the admission of extrinsic evidence as to its appropriate interpretation.

The trial court made three specific findings, any one of which, if supportable, would justify a judgment in favor of appel-lee as a matter of law.

The court found that while the Declaration imposed a duty to use parcels described in Exhibits A, B, and C of the Declaration for recreational purposes, it failed to impose a corresponding duty to utilize those facilities (and thus to pay a monthly fee) oh property owners subsequently acquiring an interest in the real property described in Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 of the Declaration. Appellants argued in the trial court and maintain here that paragraph 7 of the Declaration imposes such a duty. We agree that the matter is not sufficiently clear to justify summary disposition. Where each of the parties suggests a different but reasonable interpretation of the language of the Declaration on this point, the issue is one of fact which precludes summary judgment. Griffin Builders Supply, Inc. v. Jones, 384 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980).

The court further found that the use restrictions apply only to “apartments or condominium units and the residences being constructed [on parcels described in Exhibits 1, 2 or 3] consist of fee simple, single family townhouses,” and thus they could not be applied to appellee’s property even if a duty was otherwise imposed as to these parcels. We note first that the Declaration creates burdens and duties for the benefit of “owners of property.” It is therefore not clear that a single family residence would avoid the use restriction. Of equal importance, is our conclusion that “apartment” and “townhouse” are not, as a matter of law, mutually exclusive terms. This finding too presents a matter requiring evidence for clarification, certainly as to the respective meanings of the terms and perhaps, depending upon the outcome of that inquiry, as to the intention of the parties.

The third finding of the trial court is that such restrictions, even if they applied to property located on one of the lots described in Exhibits 1, 2 or 3, and even if they applied to a townhouse, could not be availed of by appellants because of language in the Declaration to the effect that only a condominium corporation or association may enforce the restrictions. The language on which this conclusion rests is permissive only; it provides that the restrictions “may be enforced by [a condominium corporation or association etc.]” and does not purport to delineate or grant an exclusive right of enforcement to those bodies.

. We conclude that genuine issues of material fact are raised by the complaint for declaratory relief which were not put to rest by the pleadings and evidence before the trial court, requiring that we reverse the summary final judgment and remand for further proceedings.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

LETTS, C.J., and DELL, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • V & R, Inc. v. Wolff, 452 So. 2d 1029 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
    …that the pleadings and evidence before the trial court raise genuine issues of material fact concerning the proper interpretation of the dedication. Consequently, summary judgment was improper. See Cove Club Investors, Ltd. v. Sandalfoot Associates, 425 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), petition for rev. denied, 436 So. 2d 100 (Fla.1983); see also Kirsh v. Mannen, 393 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Eaton v. Madsen, 388 So. 2d 1275 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Sarasota County v. Stanton Investment Co. of Missouri, 283 So…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw