VINCENT S. MERCIER v. TURNBERRY ISLE SOUTH CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed April 12, 2023. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D21-2061 Lower Tribunal No. 20-24567 ________________

Vincent S. Mercier, et al., Appellants,

vs.

Turnberry Isle South Condominium Association, Inc., Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, David C. Miller, Judge.

Civil Justice Law Firm, PA, and Ronnette Gleizer (Hallandale), for appellants.

Blaxberg, Grayson, Kukoff & Forteza, P.A., and Gaspar Forteza and I. Barry Blaxberg, for appellee.

Before FERNANDEZ, C.J., and SCALES and MILLER, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 718.1255(4)(k), Fla. Stat. (2020) (“An arbitration

decision is . . . final if a complaint for a trial de novo is not filed in a court of

competent jurisdiction in which the condominium is located within 30 days.”);

Johnson v. Levine, 736 So. 2d 1235, 1238 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (holding that

the failure to timely request a trial de novo renders an arbitration decision

final and binding); Neate v. Cypress Club Condo., 718 So. 2d 390, 393 (Fla.

4th DCA 1998) (holding pursuant to section 718.1255 that, even when an

action has been stayed to allow arbitration to be conducted, after the

arbitration results, the party who does not accept the arbitrator’s decision

must still file a new complaint in court for a trial de novo within thirty days).