Palm-Aire Country Club Apartments Condominium, Inc. v. FPA Corp.

559 So. 2d 277, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 2063, 1990 WL 33510
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 28, 1990
DocketNo. 88-3314
StatusPublished

This text of 559 So. 2d 277 (Palm-Aire Country Club Apartments Condominium, Inc. v. FPA Corp.) 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
Palm-Aire Country Club Apartments Condominium, Inc. v. FPA Corp., 559 So. 2d 277, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 2063, 1990 WL 33510 (Fla. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Appellants, fifteen condominium associations representing the unit owners of a condominium real estate development, sued the appellee, developer, FPA, to establish a constructive trust to assert their claimed right to join two golf and tennis clubs in the development on an annual dues paying membership after the developer had converted them to equity membership clubs. Prom a final judgment in favor of developer, appellants filed this appeal. We affirm.

“THE WORLD OF PALM-AIRE” real estate development is a mixed use residential and recreational development consisting of approximately 1750 acres in Pompano Beach. It has within its boundaries condominiums, single family homes, apartments, golf courses, tennis courts, clubs, a hotel, a spa and commercial development. Each condominium was the subject of a declaration of condominium which provided for recreational facilities to be owned by the condominiums as common elements and for the lease of recreational facilities in common with other condominiums. However, the golf courses, tennis courts, clubs, and spa which are the subject matter of this suit were not included in the declarations of condominium or the recreational leases.

Between 1968 and the end of 1987 over 6,000 condominium units in the World of Palm-Aire were sold. Purchasers were told that the golf and tennis facilities were available on an annual dues or daily fee basis. However, no one testified that the developer represented that such facilities would be available to them permanently.

All condominium unit owners who purchased their units from FPA or Orleans Construction Company of Florida, Inc. (a subsidiary) signed contracts which provided in part:

ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, REFERENCE SHOULD BE MADE TO THIS CONTRACT AND THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE.
[[Image here]]
Purchaser hereby acknowledges and agrees that only those recreation and other type facilities and services (hereinafter referred to as “facilities and services”) as are provided for pursuant to the terms and provisions of the applicable Declaration of Condominium and Exhibits thereto will be provided. Any other facilities and services exist at the sole discretion of FPA Corporation, or its affiliates, and FPA Corporation and affiliates do not warrant or represent that such facilities and services which are established now or may be established in the future will continue, but rather such facilities and services may be terminated, altered, or otherwise cancelled at the sole [279]*279discretion of FPA Corporation, its affiliates, successors or assigns ...

Until January, 1988, annual memberships for the use of the five golf courses, tennis courts and the clubhouse facilities were available to all residents of “The World of Palm-Aire”. In order to obtain membership the residents were required to make an application and agree to abide by the Rules and Regulations established from time to time by the Board of Governors of the Palm Aire Country Club. The Rules and Regulations provided:

Use of Club areas, amenities or facilities and the rights and obligations of any member or guest are subject to the terms and conditions as prescribed in the General Rules and Regulations at the time of membership approval and as amended, from time to time, by the Club’s Board of Governors.
Facilities are subject to change in usage, elimination or substitution as may be determined by the Club’s Board of Governors.

Effective January 1, 1988, access to two of the five golf courses, most of the tennis courts and one of the two clubhouses was changed and limited to owners who purchased equity memberships. Member/owners would also pay annual dues. FPA had made the change because the clubs were losing money, and the developer determined that equity membership was a way to preserve the facilities. The equity conversion plan placed limitations on the number of memberships for the golf, tennis and social categories. However, still available to condominium owners were annual memberships at the remaining facilities which were subsequently purchased by another corporation.

In their complaint for a permanent injunction, appellants alleged that all the advertising, sales brochures and offerings by FPA included representation of the right to use the golf, tennis and clubhouse facilities which induced the purchasers to buy their condominiums, and they relied on the representations that they would be able to use the facilities upon payment of an annual membership fee. Appellants alleged that the appellants therefore owned a “right to use”, a usufruct or an easement of use and requested that the court declare appellees constructive trustees of all the recreation facilities. Appellants asked the court to “thereby [hold] that the right to use” the facilities upon the payment of “annual dues” is a right which runs with condominium unit ownership in “The World of Palm-Aire.”

After a lengthy trial in which the court was presented with a great number of witnesses and boxloads of documents, the trial court rendered its final judgment, material portions of which we reproduce verbatim.

e) That the plaintiffs at the time of the purchase of the original condominium units received no legal title documents of record which would give plaintiffs the right to usé the amenities in question by the payment of an annual membership fee or any other recorded right to use said amenities.
f) At the time the membership of the Plaintiffs purchased their individual units they were allowed to purchase for an additional annual membership fee the right to use all the golf and tennis facilities in the compex [sic], including the two golf courses, tennis facilities, and clubhouse presently owned by the Defendant, OAKS GOLF AND RACQUET CLUB, and this arrangement was continued until December, 1987.
g) The Plaintiffs concede that the Defendants are the owners or prior owner of the amenities in question and could and did raise the annual membership fees from time to time and allow the general public to use the amenities for a fee. The Plaintiffs now contend that the Defendants cannot sell a limited number of equity memberships in the amenities thus depriving some unit owners of their alleged right to use the amenities by payment of annual membership fee.
h) The Plaintiffs petition this court to allow them by permanent injunction to impose a constructive trust granting them a right which will run with the title to every condominium unit in the Plaintiffs [sic] condominiums to acquire annu[280]*280al memberships in the amenities owned by the Defendant, OAKS GOLF AND RACQUET CLUB, INC. OF FLORIDA. The Plaintiffs characterize this right as an easement, usufruct, or right of use.
i) The basis for the Plaintiffs [sic] right of use is alleged to be certain representations allegedly inducing the purchase of the condominiums contained in advertisements, offering circulars, brochures, oral statements, and a past course of dealing.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Steigman v. Danese
502 So. 2d 463 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)
Flamingo Ranch Est., Inc. v. Sunshine Ranches H., Inc.
303 So. 2d 665 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1974)
Scott v. Sandestin Corporation
491 So. 2d 334 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1986)
Quinn v. Phipps
113 So. 419 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1927)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
559 So. 2d 277, 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 2063, 1990 WL 33510, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/palm-aire-country-club-apartments-condominium-inc-v-fpa-corp-fladistctapp-1990.