Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Joe
Kollin
Published April 2,
2008
He
was a "gentle" Army veteran living quietly in his Boca Raton
condo when his world came apart.
Two years ago, former Postal Service worker Paul Ryan, 60, had a nervous
breakdown and couldn't work, care for himself or pay his bills. He has no
family to help him.
With Foreclosure on his Boca Verde apartment imminent, Rhode Island real
estate investors Carol and Sabatino Ranucci stepped in. The snowbirds have
owned a unit in the same building as Ryan for more than 20 years. They saw
he had no place to go and rushed to his aid.
The Ranuccis paid his bills, took him to doctors, picked up his medicine
and helped him get disability benefits. In March 2007, they bought the
1,043-square-foot apartment that he had purchased in 2003 and let him stay
at no charge.
Now,
however, the Boca Verde condo board wants Ryan out. It has filed a lawsuit
that could become a test of how much discretion directors have when it
comes to enforcing rules.
"The association wants to kick him out because the Ranuccis, doing
their goodwill, didn't dot the I's and cross the T's," said Kenneth
Michael Curtin, the Boca Raton attorney representing the Ranuccis and
Ryan.Curtin. "If it wasn't for his neighbors, this man would be on
the street. Society would have a disabled vet on the street."
In June 2007, for estate planning purposes, the Ranuccis transferred the
apartment to a trust they created. Their trust then gave Ryan a life lease
so he could stay for free in the condo until he dies. Then, the unit will
revert to the Ranuccis' trust. The life lease also meant he wouldn't be
subject to an association rule that sets a one-yearmaximum for renting.
The Ranuccis say the board was aware of their plans, but they admit they
hadn't sought its formal approval.
"He already lived there, they already approved him. We never thought
we needed approval," said Carol Ranucci.
Although the life estate and Palm Beach County property records put the
apartment in Ryan's name, "the board said he wasn't the unit owner so
he couldn't stay, even though he had been there since 2003," said
Curtin. "They wanted him to be considered a renter so they could kick
him out after a year."
On Aug. 8, the association filed suit against the Ranuccis and Ryan. It
asks a judge to "immediately remove" Ryan from the 98-unit
complex.
The suit, which considers Ryan a renter, accuses the Ranuccis of violating
the rules by not getting board approval to rent the apartment to him and
selling it to their own trust without board approval.
In his response, Curtin argues the board's action is illegal because it is
based on Ryan's disability and the rule isn't enforced equally. He said
another rule states the association, if it objects to a transfer such as
the Ranuccis made, must provide an approved purchaser within 30 days for
cash at fair market value. The association didn't do so, Curtin says, so
the transfer is valid.
Association attorney J. Steven Hudson of Boca Raton couldn't be reached
for comment. A former director said the association's lawyers have
instructed him and board members not to comment.
The dispute is in mediation. If not resolved soon, Palm Beach County
Circuit Judge Jeffrey A. Winikoff may have to decide whether Ryan should
stay or go.
Ryan, according to Carol Ranucci, "has never bothered anyone"
and is a "very gentle man."
Why did the Ranuccis, who are paying all of Ryan's expenses, go to his
rescue?
"My husband is a generous, loving person," said Carol Ranucci.
"We both know you can't save the world, but you can help one person
at a time."
EXPLANATION:
Association attorney J. Steven Hudson
is an attorney of the law firm of Randall K. Roger & Associates, P.A.
Q&A
Q. Does a legal spouse who isn't listed as an owner on the deed have any
rights, asks a Dania Beach reader. Can the spouse attend meetings, vote or
act for the owner in any other way? Another reader asks the questions of
unmarried longtime companions.
A. A spouse who is not on the deed does not possess the rights of an
owner, said attorney S. C. Chase Adams of Fort Lauderdale. A spouse, he
said, doesn't have the automatic right to attend board meetings unless an
association's documents permit it.
A spouse can vote the owner's proxy in non-election issues, Adams said,
and a spouse can serve on the board unless the documents prohibit it.
If it seems strange that a spouse can be locked out of board meetings but
can serve on the board, blame it on the law. Adams said if an
association's documents don't say who can or can't be a board member, then
anyone who meets the requirements of the state law governing nonprofit
corporations applies. That law pretty much says only that the person must
be 18 or older.
The answers for non-owner significant others are exactly the same, he
said.
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