Ibis Lakes Homeowners Ass'n v. Ibis Isle Homeowners Ass'n

102 So. 3d 722, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21408, 2012 WL 6163184
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 12, 2012
DocketNo. 4D12-1273
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 102 So. 3d 722 (Ibis Lakes Homeowners Ass'n v. Ibis Isle Homeowners Ass'n) 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
Ibis Lakes Homeowners Ass'n v. Ibis Isle Homeowners Ass'n, 102 So. 3d 722, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21408, 2012 WL 6163184 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

GROSS, J.

Appellant Ibis Lakes (“Lakes”), a homeowner’s association, appeals the non-final order of the trial court granting Appellee Ibis Isle’s (“Isle”) motion to compel arbitration. We affirm, holding that an arbi-trable issue existed and that the circuit court did not err in finding that Isle had not waived arbitration.

Lakes and Isle are adjoining homeowner’s associations (“HOAs”) located within the residential community Ibis Golf & Country Club (“Ibis Golf’). Ibis Golf was constructed in two distinct residential phases. Although originally designed as one residential subdivision, each phase’s members chose to become a separate homeowners association for its respective parcel, resulting in Lakes becoming the HOA for Phase I and Isle becoming the HOA for Phase II.

Both sub-communities share a common entranceway and Isle residents must use a common roadway located on Lakes’ property to reach their residences. Since Isle derives a benefit from the use of the entryway and common roadway, Lakes and Isle agreed on June 3, 1997, to enter into a Shared Common Expense Agreement (“Agreement”) to “memorialize their desire to share the use of, access through and upon Lake Boulevard, to share the use and benefits of the Shared Common Areas and to allocate the costs for maintenance and repair of both the commonly shared portion” of the roadway and common areas.

Agreement Requirements

Under the Agreement, Lakes was to be responsible for “maintenance of and repair of the Shared Common Areas.” In performing this duty, Lakes was to follow certain budgetary procedures, such as creating an annual budget with “specific line item allocations for expenses to be shared ... by Lakes and Isles for the Shared Common Areas.” Additionally, pursuant to a later amendment to the Agreement, both HOAs assigned specific percentages of expenses to be shared:

a) 73% of Reserve for Lakes Boulevard Road Repaving;
b) 100% of Entry Landscape Maintenance
c) 93% of Street and Accent Electrical Lighting
d) 6% of Irrigation Electric;
e) 100% of Annual Flowers;
f) 100% of Entry Wall Painting;
g) 73% of General Liability Insurance; and
h) 5% of Annual Management Fee

Furthermore, within ninety days of the end of each calendar year, Lakes was to provide Isle “with a reconciliation of the actual costs of the Shared Expenses and the amount paid by” Isle.

Arbitration Clauses within the Agreement

Within the Agreement, three paragraphs define the circumstances under which either party could refer disputes arising under the Agreement to arbitration. Paragraph 9, which is inapplicable to this case, allowed arbitration “[i]n the event that Ibis Isle HOA fails in its per-[726]*726formanee ... regarding the payment of the Shared Expenses.”

Paragraph 10 concerned situations where Lakes defaulted in its maintenance obligations:

In the event that Ibis Lakes HOA fails in its performance of this Agreement regarding its maintenance obligations as set forth in paragraph 5 above, Ibis Isle may declare a default (“Maintenance Default”) by providing notice of same to Ibis Lakes HOA (“Notice of Maintenance Default”). Upon receipt of a Notice of Maintenance Default, Ibis Lakes HOA shall have the option to cure the default within thirty (30) calendar days or provide Ibis Isle HOA with a notice of dispute of default (“Dispute Notice”). In the event that Ibis Lakes HOA issues a Dispute Notice to Ibis Isle, in that event, the matter of the alleged Maintenance Default shall be submitted by the Parties to binding arbitration in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association.

Paragraph 20 of the Agreement generally provided for binding arbitration for all disputes arising from the Agreement:

The parties hereby agree that concerning any dispute from this Agreement or the obligations of the parties to this Agreement, including but not limited to, the failure of the parties to agree pursuant to Section 7.5 hereof, shall be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association.

(Emphasis added).

Nature of the Dispute

On October 18, 2011, Isle filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association to obtain a refund of $7,122.68 for overcharges made by Lakes between 2002 and 2008. Specifically, Isle alleged that Lakes breached the Agreement by improperly charging Isle for insurance coverage outside of the Shared Expenses agreement, and therefore in addition to General Liability Insurance as defined by the Agreement.

On October 27, 2011, Lakes filed a complaint to enjoin arbitration, alleging that the “[c]harge[s] for insurance coverage and/or concealing such charges!] are not issues that Lakes and Isle agreed to submit to arbitration.” Lakes argued that, under paragraph 10 of the Agreement, “only Lakes’ failure to maintain and/or repair entranceway landscaping and/or the common roadway could be submitted to arbitration.”

In response, Isle filed a Motion to Abate and Compel Arbitration, for which the trial court conducted a hearing on December 6, 2011; the court did not rule at that time, but eventually specially set a hearing for March 2012.

On December 8, 2011, Isle served a Request to Produce seeking all of the quarterly shared expense statements or invoices prepared by Lakes with regard to the General Liability Insurance policies. Lakes objected to this request. The trial court sustained Lakes’ ' objection and stayed the request to produce “pending the ruling on the motion to abate and compel arbitration.”

On March 26, 2012, the trial court granted Isle’s motion to abate and compel arbitration, finding that “a valid agreement to arbitrate, an arbitrable issue and no waiver.”

I

In its first issue on appeal, Lakes argues that the trial court erred in determining that an arbitrable issue exists between the parties. Lakes contends that the drafters of the Agreement “specifically drafted [727]*727paragraphs 9 and 10” to delineate what matters were to be arbitrated. Since paragraph 20 contains only a general arbitration provision, Lakes contends that the ejusdem generis doctrine should be employed to limit paragraph 20’s general arbitration provision to the specific situations identified in paragraphs 9 and 10.

Standard of Review

“An order granting or denying a motion to compel arbitration is reviewed de novo.” Best v. Ed. Affiliates, Inc., 82 So.3d 143, 145 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (quoting DFC Homes of Fla. v. Lawrence, 8 So.3d 1281, 1282-83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)). However, “the trial court’s factual findings are reviewed under a competent, substantial evidence standard.” Id. at 146 (quoting BDO Seidman, LLP v. Bee, 970 So.2d 869, 873-74 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)).

The Agreement’s Paragraph 20 is Enforceable

Chapter 682, Florida Statutes (2011), governs arbitration in commercial contract cases.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
102 So. 3d 722, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21408, 2012 WL 6163184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ibis-lakes-homeowners-assn-v-ibis-isle-homeowners-assn-fladistctapp-2012.