Facts
- In 1974, William Waters and his wife purchased a unit in Pine Island Ridge Condominium from the developer, Pine Island Ridge, Inc.
- The Waterses paid the developer a $2,000 premium, and the developer agreed to pay the condominium “F” association all of the Waterses’ maintenance fees, recreation fees, and country-club dues for five years.
- The Pine Island Ridge Condominium “F” Association (the association) was a separate and distinct corporation from the developer.
- The association did not approve or ratify the developer’s agreement and did not release the Waterses from their obligation to pay assessments and charges properly made under the recorded declaration and bylaws.
- The parties stipulated that: (1) the Waterses owned the unit and it was subject to the declaration and bylaws authorizing the association to levy and collect maintenance assessments; (2) assessments were made against the unit; (3) the Waterses refused to pay; and (4) the association filed an appropriate lien against the unit.
- The parties also stipulated that the association was not the successor in right, title, and interest to the developer.
- When amounts became delinquent, the association sought to foreclose its lien and refused to allow the Waterses to lease their unit while fees and dues were unpaid.
- The Waterses raised an affirmative defense that they had “prepaid” five years of fees and dues through their $2,000 payment to the developer.
- The Waterses counterclaimed for slander of title and sought compensatory and punitive damages based on the association’s lien and its refusal to allow leasing.
- The trial court ruled for the Waterses and awarded damages for lost rental income and attorney’s fees; the association appealed.
Issues
- Whether a unit owner’s private agreement with the developer—unapproved by the condominium association—relieves the owner of the obligation to pay assessments and related charges to the association under the recorded declaration and bylaws.
- Whether the association’s filing of a lien and refusal to allow leasing while assessments and dues are delinquent support the owners’ counterclaims for slander of title and damages.
Decision
- The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the judgment for the Waterses and remanded.
- The court held the Waterses remained obligated to pay assessments and related charges to the association as required by the declaration and bylaws, despite the developer’s separate promise to pay for five years.
- Because the obligation to the association was not discharged, the association was entitled to enforce collection, including by lien and foreclosure, as provided in the governing documents.
- The court reversed the damages and attorney’s fee awards entered against the association based on the lien filing and the leasing refusal.
Legal Principles
- A condominium unit owner’s duty to pay assessments arises from the recorded declaration and bylaws and is owed to the association.
- A developer’s side agreement to pay an owner’s assessments and dues does not bind the association without the association’s approval, ratification, or other legal basis to treat the association as responsible for the developer’s promise.
- When a developer fails to perform a private payment promise, the owner’s remedy is against the developer, not against the association’s assessment authority.
- Where assessments are validly made and unpaid, an association may record and enforce an assessment lien as allowed by the governing documents, and enforcement actions tied to delinquency do not, on these facts, support tort damages or slander-of-title liability.
Conclusion
The court ruled that the Waterses’ $2,000 arrangement with the developer did not excuse their direct obligation to pay properly assessed maintenance fees, recreation fees, and dues to the condominium association, and it reversed the trial court’s damages and fee awards because the association could enforce delinquent amounts through its lien remedies and related restrictions while the account remained unpaid.