Aquarius Condominium Ass'n v. Markham

442 So. 2d 423, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 25264
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 21, 1983
DocketNo. 82-2475
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 442 So. 2d 423 (Aquarius Condominium Ass'n v. Markham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aquarius Condominium Ass'n v. Markham, 442 So. 2d 423, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 25264 (Fla. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinions

GLICKSTEIN, Judge.

This is an appeal by a condominium association from a final judgment entered against it in favor of the Broward County Property Appraiser, granting appellee’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. We reverse and remand.

In Wittington Condominium, Apartments, Inc. v. Braemar Corporation, 313 So.2d 463 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), this court recognized that for the purpose of a defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings well pled allegations in the complaint are taken to be true. Here, the association alleged in its complaint that two lots were common elements. The parties agreed at oral argument that if the lots were common elements, the association should not have been assessed, the property appraiser recognizing that in such instance, the individual unit owners would be assessed proportionately as part of the assessment upon their respective units in the condominium pursuant to section 718.-120(1), Florida Statutes (1981) which provides:

Ad valorem taxes and special assessments by taxing authorities shall be assessed against the condominium parcels and not upon the condominium property as a whole. Each condominium parcel shall be separately assessed for ad valo-rem taxes and special assessments as a single parcel. The taxes and special assessments levied against each condominium parcel shall constitute a lien only upon the condominium parcel assessed and upon no other portion of the condominium property.

It was the property appraiser’s position, however, that the complaint goes on to refer to the original recorded Declaration of Condominium, which does not reflect the [424]*424two lots as being part of the condominium property. Therefore the trial court properly granted his motion for judgment on the pleadings.

Had this matter been before the trial court on motion for summary judgment where appellant would have been put to its proof, we could see the justness of appellee’s position. Summary judgment separates the fisherman from the bait cutter. This case is most appropriate for disposition by summary judgment if, in fact, there was non-compliance by appellant with the requirements of sections 718.110(3) and (6), Florida Statutes (1981).1 In the absence of an amendment to the declaration of condominium duly recorded prior to the filing of the present action, such absence would establish that the two lots were not common elements, assuming the original recorded declaration does not include them, as apparently it does not.

The reason given by the trial court for granting appellee’s motion for judgment on the pleadings was that it “found” that the association had not paid its taxes under protest “or to follow the provisions of Section 194.171(3), F.S. and tender to the Revenue Collector the amount of taxes which are claimed in good faith to be due.” It undoubtedly relied upon the opinion in Willig v. Blake, 358 So.2d 871 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), cited by appellee in its pleadings; but that case is poles apart from the present case in several respects. First, it went off on summary judgment, not judgment on the pleadings. Second, the record there showed the tax collector was not made aware of the fact that the taxpayer simultaneously filed a lawsuit and paid his taxes. In this case, the taxpayer association not only denied the property appraiser’s affirmative defense of payment without protest but also detailed proceedings before the Property Appraisal Adjustment Board. In Willig, the court said:

If the taxpayer takes it upon himself to depart from the statutory scheme, then he is under an obligation to put the Tax Collector on actual notice that he is contesting the taxes paid. In the instant case, there was no actual notice of protest given to the Tax Collector at the time the taxes were paid. Therefore, the payment of the taxes in full without proper protest gave rise to appellees’ complete affirmative defense upon which the trial court granted summary final judgment in their favor. See State ex rel. Victor Chemical Works v. Gay, 74 So.2d 560 (Fla.1954); North Miami v. Seaway Corp., 151 Fla. 301, 9 So.2d 705 (1942); and Tietig v. Dade County, 214 So.2d 634 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968).

There is nothing in Willig to suggest that the taxpayer went through the administrative process as did the association. Moreover, the Revenue Collector of Broward County has never filed an answer in the trial court, alleging an absence of actual notice on his part; nor has the property appraiser made such allegation as an affirmative defense. The former official filed a motion to dismiss, apparently still pending, which merely asserted the association’s failure to allege payment under protest, as did the property appraiser’s affirmative defenses. Wittington would logically suggest that this issue of notice be resolved on summary judgment, not judgment on the pleadings.

Further, we are not completely satisfied with the invulnerability of the “no protest” and “notice” theories, although we do not feel compelled to reach a definitive stand [425]*425on those points in the present posture of the case. On remand we hope the parties’ research fully analyzes for the benefit of the trial court — and ultimately for this court — the reasons, if any, which justify the necessity of protest or of notice on the one hand versus the alternative notion of involuntariness. We call to the parties’ attention the decision of the supreme court in North Miami v. Seaway Corporation, 151 Fla. 301, 9 So.2d 705 (1942).

Seaway Corporation concerned appel-lee’s attempt to recover taxes it had paid on property not within the jurisdiction of the levying municipality. The supreme court said in part:

The right of a taxpayer to recover taxes paid, where the tax is illegal, is more or less involved and the decisions are in conflict.
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Every man is supposed to know the law, and if he voluntarily makes a payment which the law would not compel him to make, he cannot afterwards assign his ignorance of the law as a reason why the State should furnish him with legal remedies to recover it. Ignorance or mistake of the law by one who voluntarily pays a tax illegally assessed furnishes no ground for a recovery. See . Cooley on Taxation, Vol. 3, (4th Ed.), page 2565, par. 1282.
All payments are presumed to be voluntary until the contrary is made to appear. [Emphasis added.]

Id. at 306, 9 So.2d at 707. Note that the supreme court did not say that the only way to show involuntariness of the payment is by protesting to the collector at time of payment. Rather, the court went on to give examples, chiefly from Cooley, of circumstances in which payments are voluntary and circumstances in which payments are involuntary. Thus, unless payment was made to save arrest or the sale or seizure of goods, mere protest at time of payment did not alter the voluntariness of the payment; payment in advance in order to obtain a discount was voluntary, but payment to avoid onerous penalties was involuntary. Id. at 306-07, 9 So.2d at 707. Payment pursuant to a bargain or compromise was voluntary, but payment under a mistake of fact was involuntary. Id. at 307, 9 So.2d at 707. The supreme court did take particular note of Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Commissioners,

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Bluebook (online)
442 So. 2d 423, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 25264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aquarius-condominium-assn-v-markham-fladistctapp-1983.