Jamlynn Investments Corp. v. San Marco Residences of Marco Condominium Ass'n, Inc., 88-03593

• Decision Date: 09 June 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-03593,88-03593
• Citation: 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1404,544 So.2d 1080
• Parties: 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1404 JAMLYNN INVESTMENTS CORP., d/b/a Alpine Restaurant & Deli, Appellant, v. SAN MARCO RESIDENCES OF MARCO CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1080

544 So.2d 1080

14 Fla. L. Weekly 1404

JAMLYNN INVESTMENTS CORP., d/b/a Alpine Restaurant & Deli, Appellant, v. SAN MARCO RESIDENCES OF MARCO CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Appellee.

No. 88-03593.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Second District.

June 9, 1989.

Ronald S. Webster of Rhodes & Tucker, Marco Island, for appellant.

Leonard P. Reina of Forsyth, Swalm & Brugger, Naples, for appellee.

RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.

Appellant/defendant, Jamlynn Investments Corp., d/b/a Alpine Restaurant & Deli, challenges a nonfinal order denying its motion for temporary injunction against appellee/plaintiff, San Marco Condominium Association, Inc. The trial court denied the motion on the ground that Jamlynn lacked standing to file the motion for temporary injunction. We reverse.

Alpine Restaurant & Deli is located in San Marco Residences, a mixed use condominium. Jamlynn purchased the Alpine business from William and Lottie Tedio and, as a condition of the purchase, entered into a commercial lease/option to buy agreement with the Tedios for the condominium property in which Alpine is located. Jamlynn leased the premises subject to the condominium declaration, rules and regulations, and agreed to comply with all existing and future condominium rules and regulations.

The Condominium Association filed a complaint seeking an injunction against Jamlynn, alleging Alpine was violating various provisions of the condominium declaration, the Condominium Association's bylaws, rules and regulations, and the county's zoning ordinances. The complaint stated that Article III of the condominium declaration allows use of condominium space as a deli, and one allegation was that there was a disproportionate use of parking spaces by Alpine's customers and employees.

Jamlynn's answer denied the allegation that Alpine used too many parking spaces, and counterclaimed to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief. Jamlynn alleged that the Condominium Association's attempt to amend the condominium declaration to limit the commercial unit owner's use of forty-seven limited common element parking spaces, to which it is entitled under the recorded prospectus and condominium declaration, would cause irreparable harm and violated the condominium prospectus and declaration.

In its answer to Jamlynn's counterclaim, the Condominium Association generally denied the allegation regarding the parking spaces and denied that Jamlynn had an actual, present, and adverse interest in the subject matter before the court. Jamlynn then filed a motion for temporary injunction, alleging that the Association's threats to eliminate the parking spaces as limited common elements and reassign them to individual unit owners would cause Jamlynn irreparable harm from lost income because its customers would be denied access to Alpine.

During the hearing on the motion for temporary injunction, the Condominium Association argued that Jamlynn did not have standing to prevent the Association from amending its documents because Jamlynn was not a condominium unit owner. The trial court denied Jamlynn's motion on the ground it did not have standing, relying upon Backus v. Smith, 364 So.2d 786 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).

We find that Backus and the other cases cited by appellee are distinguishable and do not control the disposition of this case. Backus involved, inter alia, the dismissal of the plaintiffs' count against a condominium association for tortious interference with a contractual relationship, not an injunction. In that case, the association refused to permit the sale of a condominium during a meeting where the association failed to follow procedural requirements set forth in the condominium declaration and the association's bylaws. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the count on the reasoning that because plaintiffs...