Condos -- MORE FIGHTS ABOUT PETS

I thought we heard it all?

The little puppy sneaked in by owner -- unnoticed by the condo-board.
The board that changed the deed restrictions -- without membership vote -- to disallow pets in the units.
The board that scared unit-owners to vote in favor of change of pet rules, using loss of property value as scare-tactic.
And a long list of stories where pet owners were persecuted by boards and neighbors.

But here is a new one: Two little Yorkies, who are calling this condominium their home since 1999, being prosecuted and kicked out of their home by brand new neighbors.

Actually, this is a condominium that is advertised as pet-friendly. But the new neighbors in the CLARIDGE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC. in Naples obviously missed that part of the advertisement when they bought their penthouse. Because shortly after they moved in, they declared war on the two little Yorkies living next to them -- calling it their home since 1999.

And they even convinced the board of the condominium to take action and spend association funds on the eviction of these dogs. All paid for by association dues. The association will not be represented by their regular attorney, Steven M. Falk, but by Ashley D. Lupo. MMMhhh?

The owner of the dogs is trying to avoid the growing legal cost that threatens to pile up real fast and mailed the letter below to all neighbors in her community. Arbitration is set for middle of October. Will common sense still prevail -- before the money clock really starts ticking?

The letter actually says it all! Just read it and wonder what our association dues are being used for.

CYNTHIA A. DONELAN

7515 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Unit No. 22B

Naples, Florida 34108-6522

September 18, 2004

Dear Fellow Unit Owners:

The Board of Directors of the Claridge Condominium, your Board of Directors, has elevated petty bickering between neighbors to a new level at your expense, and I thought you might like to know about it. In response to a new unit owner’s complaint regarding my dogs, your Board of Directors earlier this year, declared my pair of little Yorkies a nuisance and has effectively forced the dogs and me, their owner, to move out of my home in Unit 22-B. I have been sued by the Condominium Association in an arbitration proceeding before Florida’s Division of Condominiums. In case you were unaware of this matter, I wanted to bring it to your attention, since it appears that the Board has not elected to advise you about it and it most definitely involves your interest and your money.

My name is Cindy Donelan, and I am a single woman with two small and relatively docile Yorkies. I have vowed to fight the Association all the way through the court system, if necessary.

Shortly after moving into a $1.2 Million unit in the penthouse of the Claridge Condominium in 2002, Dr. & Mrs. Stuart Bergman, seasonal residents from Virginia, apparently decided that my dogs had to go. I am a year-round resident at the Condominium where I have lived with my Yorkies since 1999. I found myself in conflict with my new seasonal neighbors. Through a series of complaints and threats to the Board of Directors, ultimately ending in a threat of litigation with the Association, the Bergmans were successful in elevating their personal conflict to the status of an association-wide issue. Were you aware of this? Association lawyer, Steven M. Falk, is quoted as predicting the Association would be “chasing its tail” during early efforts by the Association to support the Bergmans’ efforts. In a written opinion which we all paid for, Mr. Falk advised your Board of Directors, in writing, of the difficulty in sustaining the nuisance charge. His advice apparently didn’t count for much. My adjacent penthouse neighbor (22-C) and my direct downstairs neighbor (21-B) have no complaints whatsoever about my dogs, but their opinions apparently do not count, either.

Under threat of litigation, the Board of Directors was persuaded, also with the aid of a questionable videotape purporting to depict my dogs barking, to declare my dogs a nuisance and order them removed from the premises. The Board’s action, taken in a private telephone session with its attorneys, without notice to me (or you) or any opportunity to confront or defend the Bergmans’ allegations, was announced earlier this year. The Association’s arbitration lawsuit (which you are paying for) followed.

However, the Bergmans ultimately managed to persuade your Board of Directors to fund their private little war, it is clear that the ultimate losers will be you uninvolved association members. Here’s how:

The Association’s legal proceedings (which have already cost an estimated $30,000 on both sides) will ultimately result in a declaration regarding the propriety of the Board’s action. The Association is likely to lose on the merits of the Board’s determination, due to the fact that the condominium is pet-friendly and due to the particularly high threshold, under Florida law, for proving a residential nuisance. However, the big financial issue for association members will involve who pays the staggering attorney fee bills generated by the Bergmans’ private little war. If the Association loses, attorney’s fees and costs estimated in excess of $75,000, plus the cost of subsequent court proceedings (I am told probably $50,000 more), will be paid by you Association members who are uninvolved in the conflict. Many of you Association members are apparently unaware of this possibility. I thought you should be.

If the Association wins, I may be forced to pay those expenses, but none of the witnesses involved, nor the Directors themselves, will be compensated for lost time, aggravation and the elevated acrimony and emotion involved. What’s worse is that you Association members, thanks to your Board of Directors, have gladly (or unknowingly) accepted the risk of loss with no upside whatsoever. The Association has nothing to gain from the Bergmans’ little war. The only residents complaining about my dogs are the Bergmans. My adjacent penthouse neighbor and my direct downstairs neighbor have no complaints whatsoever about the dogs; however, those dogs may cost them both plenty if the Association loses its case.

My attorneys, Reiner & Reiner, P.A., of Miami, Florida are incredulous about the proceedings: “The burden under Florida law of proving a residential nuisance is staggeringly high. The fact that the Association’s Board of Directors undertook this action in a ‘Star Chamber’, with no due process participation by Ms. Donelan, will likely prove pivotal in overturning the Board’s misguided action.” Representative Julio Robaina, Chairman of the Select Committee on Condominium Association Governance in the State House of Representatives, and the driving force behind the new statewide condominium Ombudsman, expressed concern about the Board’s action and encouraged me to vigorously defend the action.

I need to tell you that Vinnie and Buddy are my family. They have lived with me for years without any problems or complaints. What our Association Board has done in response to the litigation threats of the Bergmans is outrageous. Why they chose to fund and fight the Bergmans’ ridiculous claims with YOUR assessment money is downright irresponsible. I will be happy to listen to their explanation in court! If you would like to hear their explanation before it gets that far, if you believe they owe you an explanation, please feel free to call the Association President, Dr. George Kuzmishin (239) 591-1739, their attorney, Ashley D. Lupo, Esq. (239) 649‑2736, or the Association Managers, Jim and Vicki Murphy (239) 594-5030.

I encourage you to ask them why they are spending your money to fund the Bergmans’ little war.

I encourage you to ask them why they are spending your money for the Bergmans with a tremendous downside risk and no upside for you.

I encourage you to ask them why they are spending your money to defend a Star Chamber decision, with no due process, which goes against our pet-friendly policy, and the very high burden of Florida’s nuisance laws.

If you are not satisfied with the answers you get, please let them know . . ., and please tell them that there is a better way. Tell them that they can just ignore the Bergman’s gutless litigation threats, and let the Bergmans just prove their alleged nuisance to a Florida judge, not in a Star Chamber, with no opportunity for me to defend their ridiculous allegations, but in the harsh light of truth, and with the appropriate burden under Florida law, which is theirs, not yours. Just say NO!

Sincerely,

Cindy Donelan