WOODLAKE REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
WOODLAKE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION OF MARCO SHORES, INC., CHARLES S. ALVES, ALFONSO BOTTINO, ROBERT W. DICKEY, EDWARD A. ANDELMAN, KENNETH R. HUNT, WILLIAM R. RHODE, CAROL L. FRANK, AND WILLIAM GRIFFIN, APPELLEES
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Woodlake Redevelopment Corporation appealed a trial court's order dismissing its five-count complaint against a condominium association, which the court had required to be submitted entirely to nonbinding arbitration under Florida Statute § 718.1255. The appellate court reversed, holding that only two counts (breach of fiduciary duty and accounting for misappropriation) fell within the statutory definition of 'dispute' requiring arbitration, while the other three counts could proceed directly to litigation.
Only Counts IV (breach of fiduciary duty) and Count V (accounting for misappropriation of funds) fall within the definition of 'dispute' under § 718.1255 and are subject to arbitration. The remaining three counts, which address disagreements over common element maintenance, are not subject to arbitration and may proceed directly through litigation.
[1] A condominium association's complaint alleging disputes over common element maintenance is not subject to mandatory nonbinding arbitration under section 718.1255, Florida…
[2] A breach of fiduciary duty claim against condominium association directors and an accounting claim against the association for misappropriation of funds fall within the d…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The appellant argues that the plain meaning of the definition shows that section 718.1255 does not apply to disagreements over common element maintenance and such disagreements are the essence of its complaint. We agree”
The court's agreement that not all claims fall within the arbitration statute's definition of 'dispute.'
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWoodlake Redevelopment Corporation, representing condominium unit owners, filed a five-count complaint against the Woodlake Condominium Association an…
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DANAHY, Judge.
The appellant, an organization of condominium unit owners, brought this action against the appellees, the condominium association and its individual directors. The appellant’s complaint contained five counts. On motion of the appellees, the trial court dismissed the complaint, finding that all counts must first be submitted to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to section 718.1255, Florida Statutes (1995). The appellant argues that the trial court’s action was erroneous. We agree and reverse.
Section 718.1255 contains a definition of the word “dispute” as used in that section. The appellant argues that the plain meaning of the definition shows that section 718.1255 does not apply to disagreements over common element maintenance and such disagreements are the essence of its complaint. We agree that the resolution of the issue here does not require any fact determination and reject the argument of the appellees that they should prevail because the appellant has failed to provide this court with a transcript of the hearing “from which the order on appeal was rendered.”
The complaint filed by the appellant, however, contains two counts which we believe fall within the definition of “dispute” as set forth in section 718.1255. These are Count IV for breach of fiduciary duty as against the directors and Count V for an accounting against the condominium association for misappropriation of funds. So there are three counts not subject to arbitration and two which are.
Section 718.1255 provides that arbitration is to be conducted by the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business & Professional Regulation and further provides that the Department shall promulgate rules of procedure to govern such arbitration hearings. The rules issued by the Department apply to the conduct of arbitration matters. They do not purport to solve the problem we have here, where only two counts of a five-count complaint are subject to nonbinding arbitration before the Department.
For a resolution of this matter, we turn to the Florida Arbitration Code. Section 682.03(3), Florida Statutes (1995), provides as follows:
(3) Any action or proceeding involving an issue subject to arbitration under this law shall be stayed if an order for arbitration or an application therefor has been made under this section or, if the issue is severable, the stay may be made with respect thereto only. When the application is made in such action or proceeding, the order for arbitration shall include such stay.
Although the arbitration involved here is not specifically subject to the Code, we believe the above provision states the rule which should be applied in this case.
Accordingly, we reverse the order of the trial court dismissing the appellant’s complaint and remand with directions that the court order arbitration only with respect to Counts IV and V and that the order direct that proceedings with respect to these claims be stayed pending arbitration. The order should provide that the remaining counts of the complaint may go forward.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
RYDER, A.C.J., and PATTERSON, J., concur.
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Carlandia Corp. v. Marne Obernauer, 695 So. 2d 408 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…uction defect cases might overwhelm the administrative mechanism, and perhaps the funding for it, described in section 718.1255(4). The case cited by appellees, Woodlake Redevelopment Corp. v. Woodlake Condominium Association of Marco Shores, Inc., 671 So. 2d 253 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996), does not compel a different result. In that ease, the second district held that a unit owner’s count for breach of fiduciary duty against a condominium association and its directors was a “dispute” under section 718.1255 that was…
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Swan Landing Dev., LLC v. Fla. Cap. Bank, N.A., 19 So. 3d 1068 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)…se “parties may enter into any contract they desire, and they are bound by the language of that contract”). Further, this result is not without precedent. See id.; see also Woodlake Redevelopment Corp. v. Woodlake Condo. Ass’n of Marco Shores, Inc., 671 So. 2d 253, 255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (determining that two counts of a five-count complaint were subject to mandatory arbitration and “remand[ing] with directions that the court order arbitration only with respect to Counts IV and V” and that the “remaining coun…
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Grippe v. Fla. Dep't of Bus. & Prof'l Reg., 729 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…r in the courts, id. at 154, or perhaps in mandatory dispute resolution under the provisions of Chapter 718, Florida Statutes (1997) if he meets specific criteria. See Woodlake Redevelopment Corp. v. Woodlake Condominium Ass’n of Marco Shores, Inc., 671 So. 2d 253, 254 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). AFFIRMED. POLEN, and SHAHOOD, JJ., and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge, concur. . Section 120.565 provides in pertinent part: 120.565. Declaratory statement by agencies (1) Any substantially affected person may seek…