Category Archives: bLAWg
CONTRACTUAL POST- JUDGMENT INTEREST
Many creditors have default interest provisions in their contract documents. The highest rate allowable under Florida law for these default provisions is 18% per annum or 1.5% per month. However, creditors almost never address post judgment interest in their contract documents. Such omission leaves them at the mercy of the interest rate set forth in Section 55.03, which states: Read Full Post
Jimerson & Cobb website wins prestigious award
A diverse and strong portfolio that demonstrates success is what sets a normal business apart from an extraordinary one. Here at Jimerson & Cobb we pride ourselves on our vigorous work ethic, attention to details and commitment to our clients. Expressed in our mission statement, “We are accessible, responsible, prepared, efficient and technologically advanced.” Our goals are clear and one has been recognized and validated by the community at large. Thanks in part to our partnership with Paper Street Web designs, we are very proud to announce that our website recently received 1st place in the 19th Annual Communicator Awards in Excellence in Law and Legal Services. Read Full Post
The Tables Turn: Associations Foreclosing on Banks For Unpaid Dues on Properties They’ve Acquired
The Florida Statutes are clear—persons who purchase a residential foreclosure with outstanding assessments and dues attached to it are responsible for paying those past-due amounts to the governing association upon taking possession of the property. See Fla. Stat. § 718.116(1)(a) (applying to condominiums); see also Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(2) (applying to property governed by homeowners’ associations). This Florida law applies to banks as well. Read Full Post
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONDOMINIUM ARBITRATIONS: ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION WITH “THY NEIGHBOR”
Effective 1992, the Condominium Act requires arbitration of certain condominium disputes as an alternative to court litigation and also authorized mediation of such disputes. The objective of the program is to provide condominium unit owners and associations a just, speedy and inexpensive alternative to litigation in the court system.
Section 718.1255, Florida Statutes, defines which disputes are eligible for arbitration “as any disagreement between two or more parties and the authority of the board of directors or the association’s governing document”. An eligible dispute for arbitration requires any owner to take or not to take any action involving that owner’s unit, or involving the alteration or addition to a common area or element of the condominium property. Read Full Post
Considerations for Filing Multiple Bankruptcy Actions or Re-filing a Bankruptcy Action after Dismissal
There are numerous provisions built into the Bankruptcy Code which restrain a debtor from abusing the system by filing for bankruptcy over and over again. This includes periods of time in which filing is barred and an inability to obtain multiple discharges during a specified length of time, to name a few. Further, dismissal of a bankruptcy action may have a negative impact on the debtor and provide some relief for creditors in a future action. Read Full Post
Collecting Accounts Receivable Part I: What to do Prior to Commencing Legal Action
This bLAWg is Part I in a series of bLAWgs designed to provide business owners with a high-level overview of the legal process for collecting on past-due accounts receivables. Specifically, Part I focuses on the steps a business owner can take prior to filing a lawsuit against a delinquent customer. Read Full Post
Florida Associations Can be Jointly and Severally Liable for Past-Due Assessments After Lien Foreclosures
By Hans C. Wahl, Esquire
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals has made it even harder for Florida’s associations to survive within this tough market environment. For decades, Florida law was interpreted as to always require the purchaser of a residential foreclosure to pay the past-due assessments owed to an association by the previous property owner. The Third District, however, has altered the interpretation of that law. In the case of Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia, the Third DCA held that associations can now be considered jointly and severally liable for past-due assessments in certain situations. 105 So.3d 637 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013). Read Full Post
Can a Private Creditor Garnish the IRS for an Income Tax Refund?
Isn’t tax season a wonderful time for creditors seeking to collect on a judgment? A time when all that money flowing from the federal government to debtors could go straight into your pocket. Or can it? Can you garnish the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in order to take that refund check before the debtor gets a hold of it and the money disappears? Read Full Post
Association Statutory Liens: A Powerful Tool for Securing the Payment of Past-Due Assessments
By: Hans C. Wahl, Esquire
Nothing in life is free, and that applies to living in a nice neighborhood as well. Whether it is a neighborhood of condominiums or single family homes, the cost of maintenance and upkeep often falls to those living within that community. And when an association is delegated the duty of maintaining the neighborhood, that association will charge its residents a periodic assessment, which is due usually monthly or quarterly. Such associations function best when all property owners contribute by making timely assessment payments.
Read Full Post
UNLICENSED CONTRACTING AND THE DOCTRINE OF IN PARI DELICTO
By: Christopher M. Cobb, Esquire
Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, regulates the “construction industry” in Florida “in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare.” § 489.101, Fla. Stat.. The statute addressing the enforceability of a construction contract with an unlicensed contractor provides in pertinent part:
“As a matter of public policy, contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1990, by an unlicensed contractor shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor.” § 489.128(1), Fla. Stat.
Read Full Post