BOCA VIEW CONDOMINIUM -- WILL THE BOARD FINALLY SHOW THE FINANCIAL RECORDS?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.

Published February 21, 2023

There have been two very interesting months with lots of interesting legal filings and judge’s rulings in the 72-unit Boca View Condominium. Since years – and huge legal expenses – the board has refused to allow the owners to inspect the financial records – despite the fact that the Florida Statutes 718 clearly state that unit-owners should have the right to inspect these records. But the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes has failed the owners, ignoring FS 718.501(1)(d)7 – a provision that says that the Division should subpoena such records if the owners can show that their record inspection demands were ignored by the board.

Instead it allowed the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to allow the board to hide these records from the owners.

But now one of the owners made a big progress in finally being able to inspect the records. A judge’s ruling made it pretty clear that the excuses used to prevent the owners from inspecting the financial records are absolutely invalid: ORDER ON BOCA VIEW CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.’S MOTION TO STAY PENDING APPEAL, AND ELEANOR LEPSELTER AND EDWARD LEPSELTER’S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS AND ISSUANCE OF WRIT.

That ruling is short and sweet – not mincing words or using lots of legal mumbo-jumbo.

In my opinion an excellent ruling by Circuit Court Judge Carolyn Bell.

The big question: WILL THE BOARD OBEY BY THE JUDGE’S RULING OR ARE THEY CONTINUING TO IGNORE THE LAWS AND COURT RULINGS?

After the Circuit Court issued a “FINAL RULING FOR DEFENDANTS” in December of 2022 Judge John S. Kastrenakes DENIED A MOTION FOR REHEARING filed by the Becker Law Firm. That obviously didn’t go over too well with the parties involved and the law firm of Becker& Poliakoff WITHDREW FROM THE CASE.

According to an order on Stipulation For Substitution Of Counsel the new association attorney is now John Sheppard from the law firm of Fowler White Burnett, who quickly filed an NOTICE OF APPEAL.

So much for the legal chaos that could have been prevented – and lots of money could have been saved for the owners – if the board wouldn’t have been willing to violate the Florida Statutes and/or the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes would have enforced the law as required.

On a very – for me – amusing side note: The Boca View Condominium held their annual election on Friday, January 27, 2023. The board hired for this occasion Robert Rubinstein, a former Becker & Poliakoff attorney, and the very “determined election monitor” Diana Zayas Bazan (SEE VIDEO).

Diana Zayas Bazan was in former times a member of the group of official election monitors of the Condo Ombudsman's Office, but hasn’t been used by the Ombudsman’s Office for quite a while, according to Ombudsman Spencer Hennings.

I personally got complaints about Zaya Bazan from owners about her “activities” at elections and her obviously close connections to the Becker&Poliakoff Law Firm (see Google). And despite the fact that the board spent lots of money on an attorney and an “election monitor”, the counting of the votes took behind a partition and in the end a – in my opinion -- very weird result was announced. So far the unit-owners have not seen the actual election documents.

Diana Zayas Bazan

WILL THE UNBELIEVABLE STORY CONTINUE?

Hopefully not, because I am not sure how a 72-unit condominium association would be able to finance all this legal maneuvering without bankrupting quite a few owners. Why can’t our government enforce its laws – laws that are in the book and our government is charging $4 annually from each condo-owner to enforce these laws -- avoiding bankrupting good families?

TIME WILL TELL!

LATEST UPDATE:

Board Attorney John Sheppard filed this Motion in order to prevent the owner and her attorney to see the financial records:

PLAINTIFF’S EMERGENCY MOTION FOR REHEARING OF THIS COURT’S ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY PENDING APPEAL AND MOTION FOR DISSOLUTION OF THE WRIT OF SEQUESTRATION

Both Courts rejected this motion forthwith. Will the Board now risk a contempt of Court charge?

SEE AS WELL:

HOW GUILTY ARE THE ATTORNEYS?

BOCA VIEW CONDOMINIUM – A CASH COW FOR BECKER & POLIAKOFF

“CONDO FROM HELL” – CHAPTER 2

BOCA VIEW CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION – A CONDO FROM HELL?