Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller

Published September 26, 2014

Unit owners in a Boynton Beach condominium won a small victory in a battle against a corporate takeover Friday when a judge ruled in their favor by denying the company’s request to dismiss their lawsuit.

The Via Lugano condominium, which has been mostly bought up by a company named Northland Lugano, LLC, are fighting to keep their units despite a 2007 state law that says they can be forced to sell at fair market value if 80 percent of unit owners agree to termination.

Because Northland now owns about 90 percent of the 364 units, it filed a plan in the spring to terminate the condo. It withdrew its request after owners filed a lawsuit that attracted nationwide media attention.

Most remaining owners bought during the height of the market, meaning they’d lose money and possibly owe their lender if they were forced to sell.

On Friday, Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Lucy Chernow Brown denied Northland’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.

“It was a good win for the time being, but as I say, the battle is over, but the war has begun,” said Michael C. Mayer, attorney for Via Lugano owners.

Mayer said Brown ordered Northland to respond to the original lawsuit, which claims because it became a condominium before the 2007 legal change, it is only subject to the law as it was written before the amendment.

The lawsuit also says the Florida and U.S. constitutions are being violated when an owner’s “right to acquire, possess and protect property is restricted.”

Until the question is answered, Via Lugano owners live with an uncertain future, Mayer wrote in a court filing this month. He notes that Via Lugano is advertised online as an apartment community.

“Few, if any, prospective purchasers would entertain buying, let alone paying a fair market price, property that (Northland) could take at any moment,” Mayer wrote. “If the owners could find interest in the units, a lender is not likely to finance the sale knowing the mortgage, even a first mortgage, would be subrogated to the right of Northland to terminate.”