OAKLAND EAST MANORS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLANT/CROSS-APPELLEE,
v.
MARGARET D. LA ROZA, APPELLEE/CROSS-APPELLANT
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A condominium association appealed a trial court judgment denying foreclosure on a unit owner's property and refusing to award prejudgment interest and attorney's fees for collecting unpaid assessments. The appellate court affirmed the denial of foreclosure but reversed and remanded regarding prejudgment interest and attorney's fees, which the bylaws expressly permitted.
The court affirmed the denial of foreclosure because the association had accepted the benefits of the judgment and thus could not seek reversal of that portion. However, the court reversed the trial court's denial of prejudgment interest at 18 percent per annum and attorney's fees, as both were expressly authorized by the bylaws and Florida statute.
[1] A party cannot accept the benefits of a judgment and then seek to have that judgment reversed, unless the denied relief is separate and severable from the granted relief…
[2] A condominium association is entitled to prejudgment interest on past due assessments at the highest rate permissible under Florida usury laws, when provided for in the b…
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“Appellant cannot accept the benefits of the judgment and then seek to have the judgment reversed.”
Establishes why the court affirmed denial of foreclosure despite the association's arguments for it.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOakland East Manors Condominium Association sued Margaret La Roza to recover unpaid condominium assessments. The condominium bylaws provided that unpa…
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DELL, Judge.
This appeal and cross-appeal follow a second amended final judgment allowing appellant to recover from appellee unpaid condominium assessments. Appellant contends the trial court erred when it denied its claim for foreclosure of a lien on appellee’s condominium, when it failed to award prejudgment interest of eighteen percent on the past due general and special assessments and when it denied an award of reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in collecting the past due assessments.
Initially, we affirm the trial court’s denial of appellant’s claim of foreclosure. Since entry of the final judgment, appellee has paid and appellant has satisfied the amount of the final judgment. Appellant cannot accept the benefits of the judgment and then seek to have the judgment reversed. Dance v. Tatum, 629 So. 2d 127 (Fla.1993). Appellant’s remaining points on appeal fall within the exceptions to the acceptance of benefits doctrine.1
We find merit in appellant’s argument that the trial court erred when it refused to award prejudgment interest at the rate of eighteen percent on all past due assessments. The bylaws specifically provided for unpaid assessments to bear interest at the “highest rate of interest ... permissible under the usury laws of the State of Florida. The usury statute, section 687.02, Florida Statutes (1993), permits “18 percent per an-num simple interest” as the highest rate of legal interest chargeable on the unpaid assessments in this case. No issue exists as to the validity of the bylaw provision, and thus the trial court did not have discretion to decline enforcement of its terms. See § 718.303, Fla.Stat. (1993); Sybert v. Combs, 555 So. 2d 1313 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Brickell Bay Club Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Forte, 397 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 408 So. 2d 1092 (Fla.1981). The trial court similarly erred when it denied appellant’s motion for reasonable attorney’s fees notwithstanding the bylaws’ express provision for the recovery of attorney’s fees. See § 718.303, Fla.Stat. (1993); Sybert; Brickell Bay.
Appellee has failed to demonstrate reversible error on the points raised on cross-appeal. Therefore, except as stated herein, we affirm the second amended final judgment in all respects. We remand this cause to the trial court with instructions to award appellant interest on the unpaid assessments at the rate of eighteen percent per annum simple interest and to award appellant the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the collection of the past due assessments.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART and REMANDED.
STONE, J., and KAHN, MARTIN D., Associate Judge, concur. . In Dance, the supreme court provided two exceptions to the acceptance of benefits doctrine: “1) where the rehef denied is separate and sever-able from the relief granted; or 2) where the appellant is entitled in any event to at least the amount received.” Id. at 129.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Grant v. Wester, 679 So. 2d 1301 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)…ney’s fees because he had the right to foreclose a mechanic’s lien. Earlier this year an attorney’s fee question was held to “fall within the exceptions to the acceptance of benefits doctrine.” Oakland East Manors Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. La Roza, 669 So. 2d 1138, 1139 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (footnote omitted). Accord Giltex (appeal as to attorney’s fees only); Brown v. Epstein (appeal as to attorney’s and accountant’s fees only). The fact that appellant collected money awarded on the underlying contract claim…
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Centennial Bank v. Sokol (S.D. Fla. 2025)…ar. 31, 2023) (Singhal, J.) (“Florida has a civil usury statute that defines usury as charging more than 18 percent interest annually on a loan of $500,000 or less.” (citing § 687.02(1), Fla. Stat.)); Oakland E. Manors Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. La Roza, 669 So. 2d 1138, 1139–40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (finding "merit in [the] appellant's argument that the trial court erred when it refused to award pre-judgment interest at the rate of eighteen percent on all past due assessments” where the “bylaws specifically provided…
Authorities Cited
- Brickell BAY Club Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Forte, 397 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Dance v. Tatum, 629 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 1993)
- Sybert v. Combs, 555 So. 2d 1313 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)