HARBOR LANDING CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
HARBOR LANDING, L.L.C., A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; ROY ANDERSON CORP., A FOREIGN PROFIT CORPORATION QUALIFIED, REGISTERED AND DOING BUSINESS IN FLORIDA; WEATHERGUARD BUILDING PRODUCTS, INC., A FLORIDA PROFIT CORPORATION; DAG ARCHITECTS, INC., A FLORIDA PROFIT CORPORATION; AND ROHM AND HAAS CHEMICALS LLC, A FOREIGN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, QUALIFIED AND REGISTERED TO DO BUSINESS IN FLORIDA, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2012-01-30
No. 1D11-2052
DAVIS, CLARK, and ROWE, JJ., concur.
78 So. 3d 120 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2012) 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.


Holding

The court held that a manufacturer is not automatically considered a 'supplier' under section 718.203(2), Florida Statutes, unless they directly supplied materials for the project.


Headnotes

[1] A manufacturer is not automatically considered a "supplier" under section 718.203(2), Florida Statutes, which governs implied warranties for condominium projects.

[2] Dismissal of a breach of statutory implied warranty claim is appropriate when the defendant, a manufacturer, did not directly supply the materials for the condominium pro…

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

Facts & Procedural History

The condominium association sued a chemical manufacturer for breach of statutory implied warranty, alleging the manufacturer's coating was defective. …

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
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, Harbor Landing Condominium Owners Association, Inc., challenges an Order on Motions to Dismiss and argues that the trial court erred in dismissing Count XI of its complaint, which was a breach of statutory implied warranty claim under section 718.203(2), Florida Statutes, against Appellee Rohm and Haas Chemicals LLC. Finding no error in the trial court’s determination that dismissal was appropriate because Rohm and Haas was not a “supplier” under section 718.203(2), we affirm.

During the hearing on Appellee’s motion to dismiss, Appellee’s counsel argued that while Appellee manufactured the coating used on the condominium’s exterior railings, it was Appellee Weatherguard Building Products, Inc. that actually supplied the railings for the condominium project. Counsel further argued that Rohm and Haas had no knowledge of the condominium project and that the word “supplier” in section 718.203(2) did not mean “manufacturer.” The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, explaining, “Because they’re the manufacturer. They didn’t supply it.” This appeal followed.

The sufficiency of a complaint in a civil action is a question of law reviewable de novo. Rittman v. Allstate Ins. Co., 727 So.2d 391, 393 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). Section 718.203(2), Florida Statutes (2010), which pertains to condominium warranties, provides in part that “[t]he contractor, and all subcontractors and suppliers, grant to the developer and to the purchaser of each unit implied warranties of fitness as to the work performed or materials supplied by them.... ”

Appellant erroneously argues on appeal that manufacturers should be considered suppliers for purposes of the statute. Had the Legislature wished to include manufacturers, regardless of whether they have any direct connection to a condominium project, it could have done so. See, e.g. § 320.836, Fla. Stat. (noting that a claim in writing, stating the substance of a warranty defect “may be presented to the manufacturer, dealer, or supplier”); see also In re Masonite Corp. Hardboard Siding Prods. Liab. Litig., 21 F.Supp.2d 593, 600-01 (E.D.La. 1998) (noting that the Legislature, through section 718.203, required developers to provide minimal warranties because a manufacturer’s warranties may not be automatically assigned or otherwise extended to the ultimate purchasers and that the plaintiff, the entity who built several condominium buildings in a Florida condominium, could have demanded an assignment of all applicable manufacturer’s warranties from its suppliers and contractors). Further support for our conclusion that the Legislature did not equate suppliers with manufacturers for purposes of section 718.203(2) is that the Legislature used the term “manufacturers” in subsection (1) of section 718.203, which addresses a developer’s implied warranty of fitness to unit owners. This is not to say that a manufacturer can never be considered a supplier for purposes of the warranties provided for in section 718.203(2). In this case, however, dismissal was appropriate because Rohm and Haas, a manufacturer, did not supply anything for the condominium project.

Accordingly, we AFFIRM.

DAVIS, CLARK, and ROWE, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • The Port Marina Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Roof Servs., Inc., 119 So. 3d 1288 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)
    …that section 718.203(2) does not apply to product manufacturers like GAF. The trial court entered an order dismissing Count III of the complaint, the only count against GAF, relying on Harbor Landing Condominium Owners Ass’n. v. Harbor Landing, LLC, 78 So. 3d 120 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012), and Leisure Resorts, Inc. v. Frank J. Rooney, Inc., 654 So. 2d 911 (Fla.1995), in determining that GAF was a manufacturer and not a “supplier” within the meaning of section 718.203(2). Analysis Port Marina argues that the tria…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw