BETHANY TRACE OWNERS' ASSOCIATION, INC., A FLORIDA NONPROFIT CORPORATION, PETITIONER,
v.
WHISPERING LAKES I, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, AND WATERMAN-PINNACLE, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, F/K/A BETHANY TRACE ESTATES, INC., RESPONDENTS
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The Florida court reviewed a circuit court's order staying an association's lawsuit for trespass and breach of covenant based on the plaintiff association's failure to obtain member approval before litigation. The court partially denied and partially granted the petition for certiorari, holding that while the stay was proper because the defendant was an association member entitled to enforce voting requirements, the court erred by requiring the defendant's votes to approve continuation of the litigation without first determining whether the defendant's voting rights were suspended.
The circuit court did not depart from the essential requirements of law in staying the action because Whispering Lakes, as an association member, is entitled to enforce the statutory voting approval requirements. However, the portion of the order requiring Whispering Lakes' votes to approve continuation was improper and premature because the status of Whispering Lakes' voting rights was not addressed at the hearing and must be determined before such a requirement can be imposed.
[1] An association must obtain affirmative approval from a majority of its voting interests before commencing litigation exceeding $100,000 in controversy, provided a quorum…
[2] A party aggrieved by an association's prosecution of a lawsuit without required member approval may seek to enjoin the action.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Before commencing litigation against any party in the name of the association involving amounts in controversy in excess of $100,000, the association must obtain the affirmative approval of a majority of the voting interests at a meeting of the membership at which a quorum has been attained.”
Establishes the statutory requirement that justified the stay of the Association's litigation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBethany Trace Owners' Association sought to sue Whispering Lakes I, LLC and Waterman-Pinnacle, Inc. for trespass and breach of covenant. The circuit c…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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Bethany Trace Owners’ Association, Inc. (the Association), seeks certiorari review of an order granting a motion to stay its action for trespass and breach of covenant against Whispering Lakes I, LLC, and Waterman-Pinnacle, Inc. We deny the *335petition in part and grant the petition in part.
The circuit court granted Whispering Lakes’ motion to stay on the basis that the Association failed to obtain the required approval of its members before initiating its litigation. See § 720.303(1), Fla. Stat. (2010) (“Before commencing litigation against any party in the name of the association involving amounts in controversy in excess of $100,000, the association must obtain the affirmative approval of a majority of the voting interests at a meeting of the membership at which a quorum has been, attained.”). We deny the Association’s petition for writ of certiorari in part because the circuit court did not depart from the essential requirements of law in ruling that Whispering Lakes is a member of the Association and is therefore entitled to enforce the voting requirements of section 720.303(1). See Lake Forest Master Cmty. Ass’n v. Orlando Lake Forest Joint Venture, 10 So.3d 1187, 1196 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (holding that section 720.303(1) is “a ground for any aggrieved [association member to enjoin [an] [association from prosecuting [a] lawsuit”).
However, we grant the petition in part and quash the portion of the circuit court’s order requiring “Whispering Lakes’ votes to approve the continuation of this litigation.” While the Association argued that Whispering Lakes’ voting rights may be suspended based on its failure to pay the association dues, Whispering Lakes and Waterman-Pinnacle concede that the status of Whispering Lakes’ voting rights “was not an issue for determination at the hearing on the [mjotion to [s]tay.” The language in the order stating that Whispering Lakes’ votes are required is both premature and contrary to the circuit court’s oral ruling that this issue was not yet before the court. Accordingly, we quash that portion of the order.
Petition denied in part and granted in part; order quashed in part.
LaROSE and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
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DE Soleil S. Beach Residential Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. DE Soleil S. Beach Ass'n, Inc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)…oper himself “properly concede[d] that, if it were not a member of Association, lack of valid authority of the members to file suit would not be a defense to the claims.” Id. at 1196. In Bethany Trace Owners’ Ass’n, Inc. v. Whispering Lakes I, LLC, 97 So. 3d 334, 335 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012), another of our sister courts affirmed the trial court’s determination that, because defendant corporation was a member of the homeowners’ association, it had the right to enforce the statutory authorizing vote requirement. (…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Lake Forest Master Cmty. Ass'n, Inc. v. Orlando Lake Forest Joint Venture, 10 So. 3d 1187 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)