CO-TRUSTEES PERSONALLY LIABLE
In Jacobson v. Sklaire, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 6373 (Fla. 3d DCA Apr. 25, 2012), a divided court affirmed a judgment against the co-trustees for fees and costs assessed against the trust, where the co-trustees had, without court approval, paid their own fees out of the same trust during the course of the litigation. The dissent would have made the appellees file a separate action against the co-trustees.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT / AGENCY
In So. Fla. Coastal Elec. v. Treasures on the Bay II Condo Ass'n, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 6374 (Fla. 3d DCA Apr. 25, 2012), a divided court reversed the summary judgment granted against a contractor for electrical work performed on a condominium building because the record revealed material issues of fact on an affirmative defense. The defense was that the contract had been with the developer, not the association. The unresolved issues were whether an agency relationship existed between the association and the developer, and there was confusion as to the names for the two, both called “Treasures on the Bay.” The dissent complained that the agency theory was never pled.
ARBITRATION
MV Ins. Consultants v. NAFH Nat'l Bank, 87 So. 3d 96, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 6391 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) reversed the denial of the motion to compel arbitration, holding that arbitration was required not only for the controversy which the parties explicitly agreed to arbitrate, but also those disputes based on other documents that dealt with the same loan and were executed on the same day, but did not contain an arbitration clause.
DISMISSAL OF APPEAL
dismissed an appeal filed by a party that had failed to purge the trial court’s finding of contempt and writ of bodily attachment because a party in contempt cannot invoke the authority of the appellate court. Before the dismissal became effective, the court granted appellant twenty days to comply with the trial court’s orders.
ATTORNEY’S FEES
Dish Network Serv. L.L.C. v. Myers, 87 So. 3d 72, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 6480 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) reversed a contingent-fee multiplier of 2.0 to award $176,992.64 in fees where the damage award was only $6,000 in a small claims action “run amok.”
There are quite a few condo laws in Florida that help protect both the landlord and the tenant.
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