Clearwater Key Ass'n-South Beach, Inc. v. Thacker

431 So. 2d 641
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 20, 1983
Docket82-1266
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 431 So. 2d 641 (Clearwater Key Ass'n-South Beach, Inc. v. Thacker) 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
Clearwater Key Ass'n-South Beach, Inc. v. Thacker, 431 So. 2d 641 (Fla. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

431 So.2d 641 (1983)

CLEARWATER KEY ASSOCIATION-SOUTH BEACH, INC., a Florida Not-for-Profit Corporation, Appellant,
v.
Claude THACKER and Catherine P. Thacker, Appellees.

No. 82-1266.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

April 20, 1983.
Rehearing Denied May 23, 1983.

*642 Peter T. Roman and Peter Dunbar of Dunbar, Dunbar, Roman, Anderson & Schafer, P.A., Dunedin, and James W. Hagan of Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villareal & Banker, Clearwater, for appellant.

C. Scott Brainard of Schrader, Englander & Schacter, P.A., Largo, for appellees.

HOBSON, Judge.

Clearwater Key Association-South Beach, Inc. (hereinafter the "Association"), a non-profit Florida corporation which operates the Sand Key Condominium-South Beach I, appeals a final summary judgment order which, inter alia, reformed a paragraph of the Declaration of Condominium dealing with common expenses, as requested by Claude and Catherine Thacker (hereinafter the "Thackers"), joint owners of two contiguous and interconnected condominium units, and discharged the Association's *643 claim of lien against their units for unpaid assessments. We reverse.

Sand Key Condominium-South Beach I is a 96-unit residential condominium located in Clearwater. It was developed by United States Steel Corporation (hereinafter the "developer") in the early 1970's. In March 1972 the Thackers purchased Unit 409 of the condominium from the developer. They also purchased contiguous and interconnected Unit 408 from the developer in February 1973. At the time of the sale of Unit 408, the developer's sales staff orally represented to them that they would be liable for only one monthly management fee by virtue of their earlier purchase of contiguous and interconnected Unit 409. Also, the sales contract for Unit 408 specified that

[t]his purchase of Apartment 408 in conjunction with the previous purchase of Apartment 409 ... constitutes a double-unit purchase which qualifies for one monthly management fee under the provisions of XIV.B-Management Agreement ... SAND KEY CONDOMINIUM-SOUTH BEACH I Condominium documents.

The Declaration of Condominium was drafted pursuant to the developer's direction. It was executed on July 2, 1973. The condominium's original management agreement, entered into on July 19, 1973, by the Association and Beach Management Company, not incorporated (hereinafter "BMC"), was attached to the Declaration and recorded with it in the Public Records of Pinellas County. Paragraph XIII of the agreement set forth a schedule of monthly management fees for the condominium units. It specifically indicated that Units 408 and 409 were the only units liable together for only one monthly management fee. Moreover, as mentioned in the sales contract for Unit 408, paragraph XIV provided in pertinent part:

XIV.
Ownership of Two Units by
Apartment Owner:
Notwithstanding anything hereinabove contained, it is expressly understood and agreed that where an apartment owner owns two units contiguous and interconnected to one another then and in that event only one monthly management fee shall be paid... .

The original provisions of the Declaration of Condominium pertaining to assessments for the condominium units did not reflect the language in paragraphs XIII and XIV of the original management agreement, the representations of the developer's sales staff made at the time of the sale of Unit 408, or the relevant language in the Unit 408 sales contract. Paragraph VII of the Declaration listed in fractions each unit's percentage of ownership interest in the common elements. The fractions assigned to Units 408 and 409 were 1.0416 and 1.0417, respectively. The fractions assigned to all 96 units totalled 100.0000. In other words, the percentage of ownership interest in the common elements for all 96 units equalled 100%. Meanwhile, paragraph VIII stated in full:

VIII.
Common Expenses and Common Surplus
Each unit owner shall share that percentage of the common expenses, and own that percentage of the common surplus, as designated in paragraph VII above.

Paragraph XIII specified in material part:

XIII.
Assessments
Section 1. Common expenses, including those required under any management contract, shall be assessed against each condominium parcel owner by the Association as provided in paragraphs VII and VIII hereof.

In 1978 the Association and BMC terminated the original management agreement without the complete approval of the unit owners. Paragraph XVII of the original management agreement had stated that the agreement could be terminated by mutual consent of the Association and BMC at any time without the approval of the unit owners *644 and that the covenants contained therein would bind the unit owners only during the term of the agreement.

Thereafter, various management companies rendered services for the condominium under different agreements, none of which provided that owners of two contiguous and interconnected units would be liable for only one monthly management fee.

In 1979, the Association, relying on paragraphs VII, VIII and XIII of the Declaration of Condominium, demanded for the first time that the Thackers pay a monthly maintenance fee for each of their two units. The Thackers, however, steadfastly refused to pay two fees. Thus, the Association filed a claim of lien against their units in 1980 for unpaid assessments. See § 718.116(4)(a), Fla. Stat. (1977). The Thackers subsequently filed a complaint against the Association, the developer and BMC seeking, inter alia, reformation of the Declaration of Condominium and cancellation and removal of the Association's claim of lien. They later filed a notice of voluntary dismissal as to the developer and BMC.

After the consolidation of both cases, each party moved for summary judgment. The court's final order cancelled and removed the Association's claim of lien, reformed the Declaration of Condominium by adding the language from paragraph XIV of the original management agreement to the language of paragraph VIII of the Declaration, and awarded the Thackers their court costs and attorney fee. As reformed, paragraph VIII reads in relevant part:

VIII
Common Expenses and Common Surplus
Each unit owner shall share that percentage of the common expenses, and own that percentage of the common surplus, as designated in paragraph VII above. Provided, however, notwithstanding anything hereinabove contained, and while the percentage of common surplus shall remain unchanged, it is expressly understood and agreed that where a unit owner owns two units contiguous and interconnected to one another then and in that event only one monthly maintenance fee shall be charged that unit owner....

On appeal, the Association, noting that the original management agreement provided that the agreement could be terminated at any time and that the covenants mentioned therein would run with the land only during the term of the agreement, asserts that the Thackers' "right" to pay only one monthly management fee expired when the Association and BMC terminated the agreement in 1978.

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431 So. 2d 641, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clearwater-key-assn-south-beach-inc-v-thacker-fladistctapp-1983.