Legal Updates

By: Christopher L. Pope, Esq.Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Construction Law;Condominium and Planned Development Law; and Real Estate Lawwith assistance from Robert Layman and Vanessa Fernandez, Esq. The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program is a hurricane mitigation inspection and grant program intended…

By: Christopher L. Pope, Esq.Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Construction Law;Condominium and Planned Development Law; and Real Estate Law,with assistance from Andre Eaton and Vanessa Fernandez, Esq. Staying informed about legislative changes is crucial in the ever-evolving landscape of laws pertaining to Florida…

By: Katherine R. English, Esq. On April 17, 2024, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurances published a memorandum setting forth a new Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy that is immediately effective.  EPA is responsible for enforcing many of the federal laws related to environmental protection,…

By: Chené Thompson, Esq., On February 15, 2024, at 11:42pm EST, a judge presiding over the case of Center for Biological Diversity et al. vs. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., issued a decision immediately vacating Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) programmatic biological opinion and essentially…

By: Alexander Menendez, Esq., In 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act. The legislation is intended to create a database of information to assist the U.S. government’s efforts to track bad actors who hide or benefit through the use of shell companies. Companies, such as…

It is that time of year when the Florida Legislature is in session.  This Special Edition of Legal Updates contains an attachment with information regarding all of the employment law bills that have been filed through January 12, 2016.  You will note that following the…

If permission is granted by one Board member, is the Association legally stopped from enforcing its governing documents? In Curci Village Condominium Association, Inc. v. Santa Maria, 14 So. 3d 1175 (Fla. 4th DCA, June 17, 2009), an Owner in a homeowners association verbally asked…

A recent amendment to Florida Statute Section 720.303(6), which became effective on July 1, 2010, clarifies reserve requirements for mandatory homeowners association which are governed under Chapter 720 Florida Statutes. This Statute, as amended, now distinguishes between “statutory reserves” and other types of “voluntary” or…

Amendment 4 was originally proposed in 2003, during the height of Florida’s development boom and strongest economy in decades.  It was designed to slow growth or stop it completely by requiring that every amendment to local comprehensive plans would be put to a vote of…

Date Published: 2009-06-01 Author: Christopher J. Shields Article Download: Summer 2009 Community Newsletter Part 1 – VOL. 20 NO. 8 – JUNE 2009 Legislative Update

During the 2009 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature proposed several bills, including one that was intended to require lenders to conclude a foreclosure action within one (1) year after the filing of the complaint, or be held responsible for all assessments due to the Association…

Effective July 1, 2011, the Florida Legislature enacted amendments to Chapter 443 of the Florida Statutes governing unemployment compensation benefits and taxes.  Prior to the July 1, 2011 amendment, many employers complained about an employee being able to receive unemployment benefits even though the employee…

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) oversees the enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and is authorized to promulgate rules enforcing the NLRA.  As a matter of background, the NLRA is the federal law that protects an employee’s right, among other rights, to…

On March 21, 2012, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion holding that a United States Environmental Protection Agency compliance order is final agency action for which no other adequate remedy exists except Administrative Procedures Act review and that the Clean Water Act…

At the beginning of the year, the 2011 dry season was projected to be one of the driest on record.  Couple that with the new low Lake Okeechobee Regulation schedule and we were expecting the Lake Okeechobee Basin to be in more severe water shortage…

As a result of the November elections, the House Agriculture Committee lost 16 of its existing 28 members (including 13 Democrats) when the 112th Congress was sworn in.  The Honorable Frank Lewis of Oklahoma will serve as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee for the…

Increasingly, many condominium associations are forced to deal with the issue of unit owners who are being foreclosed upon by their lenders, and who are delinquent in the payment of  assessments to the association. In most cases, any lien that the association may have on the…

A short provision contained in House Bill 7019, signed into law by Governor Scott on June 14th, may give permit holders another chance to obtain an automatic two year extension of their permits and approvals. As in past “automatic” extensions, it requires a written request…

The Florida Legislature again provided for an automatic two-year extension of certain local government development orders or building permits and for certain permits issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or a water management district. This becomes especially important to consider in light of…

“Prescriptive pets” are a growing concern plaguing condominium associations. Boards are often forced to decide whether or not to pursue arbitration in order to require the removal of the pet in light of threatened discrimination claims by the unit owner. In Karanda Village VII Condominium…

In the past year, a number of our clients have sought our advice after having been contacted by various companies offering creative options to for the collection of delinquent account.Often, these companies offer to forward fund a substantial portion of the unpaid assessments, with a…

In Killeen v. S.B. Club Condominium Association, Inc., Case No. 2008-06-4403, Summary Final Order (March 6, 2009), the Unit Owner purchased his unit shortly before the Association sent a letter to all unit owners advising that it would begin to strictly enforce provision of the Declaration…

CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION ELECTIONSStrict compliance with the rules and procedures set forth in Section 718.112(d) of the Florida Statutes and Section 61B-23.0021 of the Florida Administrative Code, as summarized below, is crucial in condominium elections.   Failure to comply with these procedural requirements could result in the…

Florida’s minimum wage increases to $7.93 per hour effective January 1, 2014.

Is your HOA board getting contacted by companies offering to purchase your association’s accounts receivable? It’s called “factoring,” and there’s a ready market if you’re interested. When might that be worth considering instead of hiring a collection agency to collect your HOA’s debt? Rarely, say…

On July 24, 2013, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court and issued an important decision affecting employer liability under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”) in a case involving supervisor misconduct, Comtran Group, Inc. v. U.S. Department…

At its September 25, 2012 meeting, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners (“BOCC”) repealed Lee County’s ordinance that provided for equal opportunity in employment (“Ordinance”) to employees who worked for employers with 6 or more employees, but with 14 or fewer employees.  The Ordinance…

In a September 2012 HOAleader.com article, we discussed state laws and offered tips for proceeding when nobody runs for the board. One of our Florida experts noted that under Florida laws governing HOAs, the problem solves itself because board members serve until their replacement is selected. Florida laws…

Now is not the time for business complacency. The 2014 Legislative Session is approaching, and there’s a slew of state and federal bills that could impact Southwest Florida employers. With debates ranging from workplace bullying to social media privacy and minimum wage, experts said it’s…

On April 25, 2012, the EEOC issued its updated enforcement guidance regarding the use of arrest and conviction records in connection with employment decisions.  If your company has a policy that requires that arrest or conviction records be taken into consideration when making employment decisions,…

Summary of Changes Chapter 719, Florida Statutes, Governing Cooperatives

On April 18, 2012, the United States District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an emergency motion for injunction suspending the April 30, 2012 required posting date for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Right to Know Rule and Poster. Questions regarding the…

On March 13, 2012, a federal judge rejected a request by the litigants suing the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to block implementation of the NLRB’s Right to Know Rule and Poster.  Unless the NLRB voluntarily postpones the implementation date, most private sector employers need…