CopyCited 13 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 36 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 129, 2011 Fla. LEXIS 734, 2011 WL 1158938
...even-member board of directors governing the association, with two members each elected by the residential unit owners, the commercial unit owners, and the retail unit owners, and the seventh member elected at-large. In 1995, the Legislature enacted section 718.404, Florida Statutes, regulating mixed-use condominiums. Ch. 95-274, § 38, Laws of Fla. Section 718.404(2) established that in mixed-use condominiums with fifty percent or greater residential composition, the residential unit owners must be entitled to vote for a majority of seats on the board of directors. In 2007, the Legislature amended section 718.404(2) to make it retroactive, adding, "This subsection shall apply retroactively as a remedial measure." Ch.2007-173, § 5, Laws of Fla. Susan Cohn, a residential unit owner at The Grand, then requested that The Grand change its voting system accordingly. The Grand filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking a declaration that subsection 718.404(2) constituted an unconstitutional impairment of contract as applied to The Grand....
...there must be determined the date of filing of the superior declaration of condominium and its subordinate documents, such as the master sublease, since such date controls for purposes of fixing the parties' rights and obligations."). Therefore, by changing the distribution of voting power, the retroactive application of section 718.404(2) would alter the rights of The Grand's unit owners in contravention of their contractual agreement. Article I, section 10 of the Florida Constitution prohibits the enactment of any "law impairing the obligation of contracts." Accordingly, because section 718.404(2) impairs the obligation of contract as applied to The Grand, we affirm the holding of the Third District below....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 16833, 2009 WL 3763031
...Katzman Garfinkel Rosenbaum, Daniel S. Rosenbaum, Joseph W. Janssen, III, and Richard Valuntas; Siegfried, Rivera, Lerner, De La Torre & Sobel and H. Hugh McConnell, for appellees. Before COPE, GERSTEN and SUAREZ, JJ. COPE, J. This is an appeal of a summary judgment which found subsection 718.404(2), Florida Statutes (2007), unconstitutional as applied to The Grand Condominium....
...Two members are elected by the residential unit owners, two are elected by the commercial unit owners, and two are elected by the retail unit owners. A seventh director is elected by vote of all of the unit owners. The Grand was turned over by the developer to the Association in 1993. In 1995, the legislature enacted section 718.404, Florida Statutes (1995), entitled Mixed-Use Condominiums. Ch. 95-274, § 38, Laws of Fla. Subsection (2) of section 718.404 addressed voting and stated: "Subject to s....
...718.301, where the number of residential units in the condominium equals or exceeds 50 percent of the total units operated by the association, owners of the residential units shall be entitled to vote for a majority of the seats on the board of administration." § 718.404(2), Fla....
...s a remedial measure." Ch. 2007-173, § 5, Laws of Fla. After the 2007 amendment, Ms. Cohn requested that the voting arrangements be changed at The Grand to give a majority of the board membership to the residential unit owners in accordance with subsection 718.404(2). The Association filed a declaratory judgment action. The Association sought a declaration that, among other things, subsection 718.404(2) constituted an impairment of the obligation of contract under *10 Article I, Section 10 of the Florida Constitution. [1] The Grand and Cohn filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court held the 2007 amendment to subsection 718.404(2) unconstitutional as applied to The Grand. The Grand had been organized in 1986, prior to the enactment of section 718.404 in 1995, and the voting arrangements were legal when the condominium was organized....
...permanent, and immediate change in those relationships irrevocably and retroactively? Pomponio,
378 So.2d at 779 (footnotes omitted). It is our view that the voting arrangements in a condominium are of great importance, and the change imposed by subsection
718.404(2) operates as a substantial impairment of the existing contractual relationship....
...Cohen,
378 So.2d 307 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Affirmed. NOTES [1] The Association gave notice of the action to the Attorney General, who declined to participate in the litigation. See §
86.091, Fla. Stat. (2007). [2] While the trial court's order refers to section
718.404, it is clear that subsection (2) was the specific provision challenged by the declaratory judgment action.
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 17090
...Absent Kaufman language, an amendment to the Condominium Act will not
have retroactive application to a condominium’s Declaration if it impairs
contractual obligations. Cohn v. Grand Condo. Ass’n, Inc.,
62 So. 3d 1120, 1121-
22 (Fla. 2011) (holding that an amendment to section
718.404(2) of the Florida
Statutes, which altered voting rights for mixed-use condominium boards,
constituted an impairment of contract under Article 1, section 10 of the Florida
Constitution)....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2007).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...ose units which are not intended for or used as private residences, the condominium is not a residential condominium. A condominium which contains both commercial and residential units is a mixed-use condominium and is subject to the requirements of s.
718.404." 8 (e.s.) Regardless of whether a condominium is residential, mixed use, or commercial, the exception in section
718.112 (2)(l), Florida Statutes, does not allow a condominium association to forego retrofitting the common areas of a high rise building....
...Likewise, residential units do not lose their status by their location in a condominium with commercial or industrial units. A condominium which contains both commercial and residential units is characterized as a "mixed-use" condominium, for purposes of compliance with the requirements in section 718.404 , Florida Statutes. Section 718.404 , Florida Statutes, however, does not address firesafety standards for condominiums....
...condominium, shall report the voting results and certification information for each affected condominium to the division on DBPR Form CO 6000-8, RETROFITTING REPORT FOR CONDOMINIUMS, incorporated herein by reference and effective 11-30-04. . . ." 8 Section 718.404 , Fla....
