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INSURANCE: SURPRISE! ASSOCIATION’S POLICY EXCLUDED COVERAGE FOR SHOOTING What happens when someone is injured on association property? If serious, then you can bet that a lawsuit against the association will follow. This circumstance invariably leads to the question: Must your insurer defend a lawsuit filed against the association? The answer likely depends on the nitty-gritty…
Read MoreIt is not unheard of for a building in South Florida to sustain water damage from a leaking pipe in the wall. It can be quite costly to repair the damage because not only do you have to rip open the wall but then the pipe will have to be fixed. Will your insurer pay…
Read MoreFining has always seemed so easy, especially for those on the receiving end – when seen through the flashing blue lights in the rear-view mirror! Not so easy for Florida community associations restrained by the Florida legislature after years, actually decades, of fears and complaints by residents fearful of association powers. In sullen response, why…
Read MoreGET WHAT YOU CAN: FLORIDA LEGISLATURE ENACTS A FRACTION OF THE SURFSIDE TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS IN QUADRUPLE OVERTIME A billion dollar settlement fund, appearance of major news network reporters, and the first year anniversary of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South Condominium’s collapse may have finally pushed the Florida Legislature and Governor to act. After failing to move…
Read MoreINSURANCE CLAIMS: POLICY REQUIRES DOCUMENTATION DELIVERY BEFORE APPRAISAL OF LOSS It never was “if.” It is when! Living in Florida, we have observed that hurricanes are more and more frequent. Not always making landfall, but dangerous in their approach. On the heal of these storms, whether we are in a hurricane’s “cone of death” or…
Read MoreMISSING EVIDENCE? YOU MAY BE TO BLAME IF YOU DESTROYED OR EVEN IF MERELY LOST! When a lawsuit is filed, evidence to prove a point is frequently sought. What happens when a party to the lawsuit destroyed or lost the evidence? If the evidence is critical for the other side proving its case, then…
Read More“TOO BUSY TO READ MY EMAIL” ARGUMENT REJECTED BY COURT IN LAWSUIT Inundated with emails? Emails from friends, from work and from vast unknown unsolicited sources. Yes, times have changed. No more is there the one delivery in late morning or afternoon, looking at the return addresses on paper envelopes, sorting into stacks of read,…
Read MoreTHE 2021 LEGISLATIVE SESSION It is still too early to determine which community association bills will be adopted by the Florida Legislature and, of course, which may be vetoed by the Governor. Though we are a month into the 2021 Legislative Session significant new proposals are making their way into bills, and provisions that were…
Read MoreFloridians brace for a potential autumn resurgence of COVID-19. “Snowbirds” reevaluate whether it is safe to return to Florida. In the midst of all this directors and managers seem to be caught in a vortex trying to meet their duties, generally to the public and more specifically to owners and residents. The current proliferation of…
Read MorePUNITIVE DAMAGES: PUNISHMENT FOR MANAGEMENT LANDSCAPING CONDUCT? Can a manager subject a Florida community association to punitive damages? Over landscaping?? For $15 million??? Because an association normally is a corporation, the purpose of punitive damages, to punish, is not always clear cut, and thankfully, few and far between. But, bad things do happen! Because there…
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