Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...We affirm the final judgment but reverse the award of attorneys' fees and costs. The appellants, residents of a mobile home park owned and operated by the appellees, brought an action for injunctive relief and damages against appellees alleging numerous violations of Chapter 723, Florida Statutes (1984), including section 723.022(2), which provides: The mobile home park owner shall at all times: (a) Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes....

...The action for unconscionable rent was dismissed with prejudice after an evidentiary hearing and in advance of trial on the other claims. After trial the court found no improper conduct by the appellees in changing a part of the park to adults-only. In addition, while finding evidence of virtually all the section 723.022 violations alleged, the trial court awarded damages only for violations concerning the swimming and wading pools....

...It appears damages were denied because adequate proof of damages was lacking, not because proof of violations was lacking. We fail to see any significance in the fact that the Chapter 723 violations were alleged in different counts. It appears that the appellants initially alleged *1099 the section 723.022(2) violations in a single count but in an amended pleading divided them into different counts....

...State, 629 So.2d 125, 126 (Fla.1993), and those words are to be ascribed their plain and ordinary meaning, see Velez v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Police Dep’t., 934 So.2d 1162, 1164-65 (Fla.2006). Here it is obvious that the legislature understands the differences between rights and obligations; section 723.022 defines the mobile home park owner’s general obligations and sections 723.054, 723.055, and 723.059 define various rights of the mobile home owner....

...South Florida, like Texas as described in Nicholson , has a natural environ *919 ment that is "not tamed.” Nicholson, 986 S.W.2d at 62 . Just as in Texas, "those who seek the outdoors are exposed to its dangers” and “[a]ny number of insects and animals can hurt, or even kill you.” Id. . Appellant argues that section 723.022(2), Florida Statutes (2009), precluded the granting of summary judgment for appellees on the issue of duty, because it created an independent statutory duty. Section 723.022(2) requires a mobile home park owner to "maintain the common areas in a good state of appearance, safety, and cleanliness.” We find, however, that this section is not an independent source of duty in this case....

...favor of the appellee. We reverse. The appellants filed a two-count complaint alleging (1) rent increases above fair market rental value (FMV) which they claimed were unconscionable and (2) violations of the appellee’s statutory duty as defined in section 723.022, Florida Statutes (1989), to maintain the common areas and utility systems and to provide access to the facilities....

...Despite the jury’s finding of FMV, the trial court held as a matter of law that such increases were not unconscionable. The jury also determined that, under count two, the appellants suffered quantifiable damages as a result of the appellee’s violations of its statutory duties as set forth in section 723.022, Florida Statutes (1989)....

...As to that specific sentence of the order numbered arabic one, we believe that some of the allegations in Count I of the second amended complaint, taken together with the preceding “jurisdiction statement,” do state a statutory cause of action under section 723.022, Florida Statutes (1985)....