CUDJOE GARDENS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., ET AL., ETC., APPELLANTS,
v.
ROY H. PAYNE, JR., AND ELIZABETH BURGER-PAYNE, APPELLEES
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment dismissing the Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Association's complaint to enforce deed restrictions against homeowners who violated setback requirements. The court held that the Association, as a property owner within the subdivision, had standing to enforce the restrictions even though its platted lot was not buildable.
The Association has standing to sue for enforcement of the deed restrictions. The fact that the Association's platted lot was not buildable does not defeat its standing as a property owner to enforce deed restrictions, distinguishing this case from Palm Point where the association had not shown it was an assignee of the developer's enforcement rights or that covenants were created for its benefit.
[1] A property owners' association has standing to enforce deed restrictions when it owns a platted lot within the subdivision, even if the lot is not buildable.
[2] A trial court's finding of lack of standing, if improper, warrants reversal of a summary judgment.
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Standard from Palm Point case that the Paynes relied upon to argue the Association lacked standing
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Association filed a complaint seeking to enforce deed restrictions against Roy H. Payne, Jr. and Elizabeth Burger-P…
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RAMIREZ, J.
These consolidated appeals challenge (1) a final summary judgment dismissing the complaint filed by Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Association and (2) the denial of a request for attorneys’ fees made by Roy H. Payne and Elizabeth Burger-Payne following the dismissal. We reverse the summary judgment as it was based on an improper finding of lack of standing by the Association. In so doing, we do not reach the attorneys’ fees issue.
By way of its complaint, the Association was seeking to enforce against the Paynes a deed restriction which included minimum setback requirements. The Paynes did not dispute that the construction of their home violated these setback requirements. In their motion for summary judgment, they attacked the Association’s standing to sue for enforcement of the restriction, relying on Palm Point Property Owners’ Association of Charlotte County, Inc. v. Pisarski, 626 So. 2d 195, 197 (Fla.1993), in which the Florida Supreme Court denied relief to the Association because it had “not shown that it [was] the assignee of the developer’s right of enforcement or that the covenants were created for its benefit.” The Paynes’ reliance on Palm Point is misplaced because in the present case, unlike the Association in the Palm Point case, the Cudjoe Gardens Association owned a platted lot within the subdivision. The fact that it was not a buildable lot does not defeat the Association’s standing as a property owner to sue for enforcement of the deed restrictions, and the trial court’s contrary ruling requires reversal. In light of our reversal in appeal number 00-1052, the attorneys’ fee issue raised in appeal number 00-1322 is moot and we decline to address it.
Reversed and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Payne v. Cudjoe Gardens Prop. Owners Ass'n, Inc., 837 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)…itially granted appellants’ Motion to Dismiss on the ground that the association did not have standing to bring suit to enforce the deed restrictions. On appeal, this Court reversed and remanded. See Cudjoe Gardens Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc. v. Payne, 770 So. 2d 190 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000). In July of 2000, during the pendency of the appeal, appellants contracted to purchase a parcel of land adjacent to the original “violating” property with the intent to cure the defect.2 On remand, appellants again moved for summ…
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Payne v. Cudjoe Gardens Prop. Owners Ass'n, Inc., 875 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)…y filed a motion to dismiss on grounds that the association lacked standing to bring suit to enforce the deed restrictions. This motion was granted but reversed by this court on the first appeal. See Cudjoe Gardens Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc. v. Payne, 770 So. 2d 190, 190 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000). During the pendency of the above appeal, in October 2000, the Paynes entered into a contract for the purchase of an adjacent lot for the purpose of curing the violation of the set-back requirement. The Paynes purchased this…
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Cudjoe Gardens Prop. Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Payne, 779 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge. In Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Ass’n v. Payne, 770 So. 2d 190 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000), this court reversed the dismissal, for alleged lack of standing, of an action by Cudjoe Gardens Property Owners Association, Inc. to enjoin construction in violation of the community’s Declaration of Deed Restrictions. After rema…
Authorities Cited
- Palm Point Prop. Owners' Ass'n of Charlotte Cnty., Inc. v. Pisarski, 626 So. 2d 195 (Fla. 1993)