METRO-DADE INVESTMENTS, CO., AND SANTA BARBARA LANDINGS PROPERTY OWNER'S ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLANTS,
v.
GRANADA LAKES VILLAS CONDOMINIUM, INC., VELINDA STRAUB, PAOLO FERRARI, MICHAEL OROFINO, AND KW PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CONSULTING, LLC, APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 2011-11-23
No. 2D11-1188
CASANUEVA and MORRIS, JJ„ Concur.
74 So. 3d 593 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2011) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 cases

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Synopsis

Metro-Dade Investments and Santa Barbara Landings Property Owner's Association appealed a trial court's denial of their motion to appoint a receiver over Granada Lakes Villas Condominium Association. The appellate court reversed, holding that trial courts possess inherent equitable authority to appoint receivers that is not restricted by specific statutory provisions governing nonprofit corporations and condominium associations.


Holding

Trial courts possess inherent equitable authority to appoint receivers that is not restricted by statutes 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124, which merely cite specific instances when receivers may be appointed rather than limiting the broader equitable power. The trial court erred as a matter of law in concluding it lacked statutory authority to appoint a receiver.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's authority to appoint a receiver is an inherent equitable power, not solely a creature of statute.

[2] Statutes enumerating specific instances for the appointment of a receiver do not necessarily restrict a court's broader equitable authority to appoint one.

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Key Quotes

“The power to appoint a receiver ... lies in the sound discretion of the chancellor to be granted or withheld according to the facts and circumstances of the particular case.”

Establishes that appointment of a receiver rests in the trial court's sound discretion based on case-specific circumstances

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Facts & Procedural History

Metro-Dade Investments developed Granada Lakes Villas condominiums and owns 55 of 248 units. After an initial agreement to use a common property manag…

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Opinion of the Court
CRENSHAW, Judge.

CRENSHAW, Judge.

Metro-Dade Investments, Co. (Metro-Dade), and Santa Barbara Landings Property Owner’s Association, Inc. (Santa Barbara), appeal a nonfinal order denying the appointment of a receiver. Because the trial court erred as a matter of law by concluding that it did not have the authority to appoint a receiver in this case, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. The Factual and Procedural Background

In February 2009, Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara filed an amended complaint for damages and other relief against Granada Lakes Villas Condominium Association, Inc. (GLVCA), Velinda Straub, Paolo Ferrari, Michael Orofino, and KW Property Management Consulting, LLC (collectively Granada Lakes), based on what they con*594sidered to be improper management of Granada Lakes Villas, condominiums located in Collier County, Florida. Metro-Dade was the developer of Granada Lakes Villas and still owns 55 of the 248 condominiums in the complex. Granada Lakes Villas is a subdivision of the larger development of Santa Barbara Landings, which is managed by Santa Barbara.

Metro-Dade, Santa Barbara, and GLVCA initially agreed to have the same property manager oversee all of the condominiums in Granada Lakes Villas and to have the owners of all of the condominiums collectively pay the fees and assessments to GLVCA. But a falling-out among the parties resulted in the condominiums being managed by two separate entities, and Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara alleged that GLVCA failed to pay them the related expenses owed after collecting its condominium fees and assessments. Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara maintained that as a result of GLVCA’s failure to pay, Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara were unable to pay for utilities and maintenance expenses for the common areas of Granada Lakes Villas.

In December 2010, Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara filed an emergency motion to appoint a receiver, arguing that the appointment was necessary to administer the collection of GLVCA’s monthly assessments and to perform an accounting of the moneys owed. The trial court conducted a hearing and appointed a receiver. However, Granada Lakes filed a motion for rehearing, contending that the trial court had no statutory basis to appoint a receiver under sections 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124, Florida Statutes (2010). After conducting a rehearing in February 2011, the trial court agreed with Granada Lakes and found that it did not have the authority to appoint a receiver. This appeal follows.

II. The Standard of Review

“The appointment of a receiver rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and, therefore, the trial judge’s decision should not be disturbed unless an abuse of discretion is clearly shown.” Puma Enters. Corp. v. Vitale, 566 So.2d 1343, 1344 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). But if the trial court was incorrect in its determination that it did not have the authority to appoint a receiver, this decision is an incorrect application of an existing rule of law, not an abuse of discretion. See Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197, 1202 (Fla.1980) (discussing differences between the two standards and holding “the manner of appellate review is altogether different”). “A question of law, as opposed to a question of fact, receives de novo review by this court.” Henderson v. Henderson, 905 So.2d 901, 903 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005).

III. Discussion

“The power to appoint a receiver ... lies in the sound discretion of the chancellor to be granted or withheld according to the facts and circumstances of the particular case.” Ins. Mgmt., Inc. v. McLeod, 194 So.2d 16, 17 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966) (emphasis added); see also Edenfield v. Crisp, 186 So.2d 545, 549 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966) (“The power to appoint a receiver is always one that is inherent in a Court of equity .... ” (emphasis added)). Similar to the argument advanced below, Granada Lakes contends that sections 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124 specifically limit when a receiver can be appointed for a nonprofit condominium association like GLVCA. Granada Lakes also argues that the Third District’s decision in All Seasons Condominium Ass’n v. Busca, 8 So.3d 434 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009), which involved an action brought by the owners of condominium units against a condominium associa*595tion for money damages arising out of the association’s failure to properly maintain and repair common elements, is analogous to this case.

We disagree with Granada Lakes’ assertion that sections 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124 restrict the right of a trial court to appoint a receiver in any action concerning a nonprofit corporation or condominium association. If we were to follow Granada Lakes’ argument, then the only time a receiver could ever be appointed would be during the dissolution of a nonprofit corporation, after a natural disaster when members of a condominium’s board of directors are unable or refuse to act, or when a condominium association fails to fill vacancies on its board of directors to constitute a quorum in accordance with its bylaws. See §§ 617.1432(1), 718.117(7)(a), 718.1124(1). We do not construe any of these statutes to restrict a trial court’s broad, equitable authority to appoint a receiver; rather, the statutes merely cite to specific instances when a receiver may be appointed. Similarly, there is no language pertaining to receivers in Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.620 that discusses any of the statutory restrictions advanced by Granada Lakes.

Moreover, we do not find All Seasons to be on point. In All Seasons, the Third District summarily held that “there [was] simply no cognizable basis for such an appointment in such a case.” 8 So.3d at 435. The cases the appellate court relied upon in support of its conclusion pertained to a proper appointment of a receiver pursuant to a primary claim or in conjunction with the presence of fraud, self-dealing, or waste of a secured asset. Id. All Seasons does not cite to sections 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124 in support of its holding.

Here, the trial court clearly stated that it was denying Metro-Dade and Santa Barbara’s motion because it believed it lacked the statutory authority to do so. Hence, the trial court erred as a matter of law because its right to appoint a receiver in this instance is inherent in a court of equity, not a statutorily created right. We note, however, that on rehearing the trial court did not appear to readdress the underlying basis for the initial appointment of the receiver. Therefore, on remand the trial court may exercise its discretion on whether to appoint a receiver.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

CASANUEVA and MORRIS, JJ„ Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Wendler v. City OF ST. Augustine, 108 So. 3d 1141 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)
    …. Co., 354 So. 2d 882, 883 (Fla.1978). Consequently, because the question of whether a court has jurisdiction to hear a case generally involves a question of law, our review is de novo. See Metro-Dade Invs., Co. v. Granada Lakes Villas Condo., Inc., 74 So. 3d 593, 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011); Sanchez v. Fernandez, 915 So. 2d 192, 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); Jacobsen v. Ross Stores, 882 So. 2d 431, 432 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004); Seven Hills, Inc. v. Bentley, 848 So. 2d 345 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003); see also Gonzalez-Oropeza v.…
  • Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. JKM Servs., 256 So. 3d 961 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
    …r the appointment of a receiver to take custody of real property embroiled in litigation in order to preserve and protect the property as the rights of the parties are determined. See, e.g., Metro-Dade Invs. Co. v. Granada Lakes Villas Condo., Inc., 74 So. 3d 593 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) ; see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.620. We conclude that the trial court had the authority to appoint a receiver to preserve and protect enumerated units that were in arrears regarding their assessment payments and subject to an Associa…
  • …PER CURIAM. Granada Lakes Villas Condominium Association (“Granada”) argues that the Second District Court of Appeal in Metro-Dade Investments, Co. v. Granada Lakes Villas Condominium, Inc., 74 So. 3d 593 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011), erred because sections 617.1432, 718.117, and 718.1124, Florida Statutes (2010), restrict a trial court’s inherent, equitable authority to appoint a receiver in an action involving a condominium association.1 For the reasons expr…

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