[RPPTL LandTen] Tenants' Association Sues On Behalf of Tenants; Makes Its Members Subject to Fla. Stat. 723.06

[Manuel Farach]

Here's a recent case the group might find interesting.

Hollywood Mobile Estates Ltd. v. Hollywood Estates Independent Tenants Ass'n, Inc.
--- So.3d ----, 2011 WL 3687460 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).
Mobile home owners are required to comply with Fla. Stat. § 723.063 (2) (tenant disputing lease compliance by landlord required to deposit rent into Registry of the Court during pendency of litigation) because the tenant's association commenced litigation in its name on behalf of members, i.e., suing on behalf of members makes the members' compliance with Fla. Stat. § 723.063 (2) mandatory.

--- So.3d ----, 2011 WL 3687460 (Fla.App. 4 Dist.)



Briefs and Other Related Documents
Judges and Attorneys
Only the Westlaw citation is currently available.


NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE PERMANENT LAW REPORTS. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL.


District Court of Appeal of Florida,
Fourth District.
HOLLYWOOD MOBILE ESTATES LIMITED, a Florida limited partnership, Appellant,
v.
HOLLYWOOD ESTATES INDEPENDENT TENANTS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida non-profit corporation, Appellee.


No. 4D10-4161.

Aug. 24, 2011.


Appeal of a non-final order from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Carol-Lisa Phillips, Judge; L.T. Case No. 08-32917 25.
Bruce S. Rogow and Cynthia E. Gunther of Bruce S. Rogow, P.A., Michael P. Hamaway of Mombach, Boyle & Hardin, Fort Lauderdale, and David Eastman of Lutz, Bobo, Telfair, Gabel & Lee, Tallahassee, for appellant.

No appearance for appellee.


CONNER, J.

*1 Appellant Hollywood Mobile Estates Limited ("Hollywood Mobile") appeals a non-final order denying its motion to require the individual mobile home tenants who are members of Appellee Hollywood Estates Independent Tenants Association ("Hollywood Tenants Association") to deposit rent into the court registry pursuant to section 723.063(2), Florida Statutes (1997). We have jurisdiction. Fla. R.App. P. 9.130(a)(3)(B); Hughes v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 621 So.2d 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). We reverse.


Hollywood Mobile holds a leasehold interest as a lessee of property owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has been developed into a mobile home park. The members of Hollywood Tenants Association sublease individual lots from Hollywood Mobile. After a dispute arose between the Seminole Tribe and Hollywood Mobile, the Seminole Tribe entered the park and took possession, forcibly expelling Hollywood Mobile's employees. The Seminole Tribe unilaterally terminated its lease with Hollywood Mobile and began collecting rent directly from the mobile home tenants.


Two weeks after the Seminole Tribe's takeover, Hollywood Tenants Association sued Hollywood Mobile in a class action pursuant to rule 1.222, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and chapter 723, Florida Statutes. Hollywood Tenants Association sued to invalidate an allegedly unreasonable rent increase, to obtain damages or a reduction in rent for reducing services, and to obtain damages for not keeping the park in good repair as required by chapter 723. Hollywood Mobile filed a counterclaim for declaratory relief against the association, as a class action defendant, asking the court to declare the subleases valid. An amended counterclaim sought supplemental relief in the form of damages for accrued rent. Hollywood Mobile then moved for rent to be deposited into the court registry pursuant to section 723.063(2). That statute requires: "In any action by the park owner or a mobile home owner brought under subsection (1), the mobile home owner shall pay into the registry of the court that portion of the accrued rent, if any, relating to the claim of material noncompliance...." The trial court denied the motion.


Hollywood Mobile argues the trial court erred in failing to apply the unambiguous and mandatory language of section 723.063(2). Where an issue involves the interpretation of a statute, a de novo standard of review applies. Strod v. Lewenstark, 958 So.2d 1138, 1139 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). Hollywood Mobile relies on MLH Property Managers v. Cox, 613 So.2d 1358 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). In that case, the lessees refused to pay impact and construction fees relating to utility connections, so the lessor filed suit for declaratory judgment and judgment for unpaid rent. The lessees asserted material noncompliance with chapter 723 as an affirmative defense. The MLH court held that the requirements of section 723.063(2) were mandatory and applied to the impact and construction fees, as the lease required the lessees to pay these charges. The lessees could not avoid paying into the registry simply because they were disputing the fees as rent.


*2 Although Hollywood Tenants Association is a single mobile home owner association, it instituted suit in its name on behalf of all the mobile homeowners. As such, the individual mobile homeowner members of Hollywood Tenants Association are the real parties in interest. See Yacht Club Southeastern v. Sunset Harbour N. Condo. Ass'n, 843 So.2d 917, 919 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). As the real parties in interest, they can be required to comply with the requirements of section 723.063(2) as if they sued Hollywood Mobile individually or jointly in their own names. Because Hollywood Mobile sued for damages for unpaid rent and Hollywood Tenants Association has asserted material noncompliance with chapter 723, the trial court erred when it failed to apply the mandatory requirement of section 723.063(2) for mobile home owners to pay disputed rent into the court registry.


Reversed and remanded.

WARNER and LEVINE, JJ., concur.



Fla.App. 4 Dist.,2011.
Hollywood Mobile Estates Ltd. v. Hollywood Estates Independent Tenants Ass'n, Inc.
--- So.3d ----, 2011 WL 3687460 (Fla.App. 4 Dist.)


Richman Greer P.A.
Manuel Farach / Of Counsel - Board Certified in Real Estate Law and Business Litigation by The Florida Bar
Richman Greer P.A.
One Clearlake Centre
Suite 1504
250 Australian Avenue South
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

Office:561.803.3500
Fax: 561.820.1608
Direct:561.803.3501
Email:MFarach at richmangreer.com

http://www.richmangreer.com/
To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.
This message contains confidential information and is intended for landten at lists.flabarrpptl.org. If you are not landten at lists.flabarrpptl.org you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender (MFarach at richmangreer.com) therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/mailman/private/landten/attachments/20110828/9910a49d/attachment-0001.html