Martin v. Ocean Reef Villas Ass'n, Inc., 88-769

Decision Date06 July 1989
Docket NumberNo. 88-769,88-769
Citation14 Fla. L. Weekly 1620,547 So.2d 1237
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals
Parties14 Fla. L. Weekly 1620 Joseph A. MARTIN and Virginia Martin, his wife, John R. Bolte and Marian Bolte, his wife, Geraldine Suter, Howard Virgin and Prudence Virgin, his wife, and John R. Batchelor and Laura Batchelor, his wife, Appellants, v. OCEAN REEF VILLAS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida corporation, Appellee.

Louis Ossinsky, Jr., of Ossinsky, Krol and Hess, Daytona Beach, for appellants.

Sid C. Peterson, Jr., of DeLoach & Peterson, P.A., New Smyrna Beach, for appellee.

NORRIS, W.A., Jr., Associate Judge.

Appellants are unit owners in Ocean Reef Villas Condominium. Appellee is the management association of the condominium and the owner of the manager's apartment therein known as Unit 101.

Appellants sought a declaratory judgment to determine whether the management association could refinance the purchase money mortgage on Unit 101 without first obtaining the consent of all the unit owners. The trial court entered summary judgment determining: (1) that Unit 101 was association property and not part of the common elements of the condominium; and, (2) that the management association could, by resolution, refinance the unit. We agree and affirm.

The Declaration of Condominium provides, in part:

The Developer has ... divided into ... 48 living units numbers 101 through 112.... The remaining part ... shall be the 'common property' or 'common elements'.

* * * * * *

All property ... which is not within any living unit shall be deemed common property or common elements....

* * * * * *

The common elements shall include ... all other parts not included within these units. [Emphasis added].

Paragraph 11B of the association by-laws specifically authorizes the association to pay the expenses for the operation and maintenance of a manager's apartment, including mortgage costs, which the association has been doing. It is undisputed that Unit 101 is a living unit, title to which is, and has been, vested in the association, subject to a purchase money mortgage. Thus, Unit 101 is clearly not a part of the common elements of the association.

Section 718.111(9), Florida Statutes, authorizes an association to purchase units within the condominium and to mortgage them unless prohibited in either the declaration, articles of incorporation or by-laws. No such restriction applies to Ocean Reef Condominium; in fact, Article III of ...

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5 cases
  • Scudder v. Greenbrier C. Condominium Ass'n, Inc.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 29 Noviembre 1995
    ...and ordinary sense. Koplowitz v. Imperial Towers Condominium, Inc., 478 So.2d 504 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); Martin v. Ocean Reef Villas Ass'n, Inc., 547 So.2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), rev. denied, 557 So.2d 35 (Fla.1990). If the previously provided transportation service needed to be assessed a......
  • Bankers Sec. Ins. Co. v. Brady, 5D99-1357.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 18 Agosto 2000
    ...5th DCA 1997); Kelder v. ACT Corp., 650 So.2d 647 (Fla. 5th DCA),rev. denied, 660 So.2d 713 (Fla.1995); Martin v. Ocean Reef Villas Ass'n, Inc., 547 So.2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989),rev. denied, 557 So.2d 35 (Fla.1990). AFFIRMED. THOMPSON, C.J., and GRIFFIN, J., concur. 1. § 627.701, Fla. Stat. ...
  • Lenzi v. Regency Tower Ass'n, Inc.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 20 Junio 2018
    ...sense." Schmidt v. Sherrill , 442 So.2d 963, 965 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983).A similar issue was addressed in Martin v. Ocean Reef Villas Association, Inc. , 547 So.2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). There, the homeowner plaintiffs requested the appellate court "to construe the word ‘mortgage’ to mean on......
  • Highland Lakes Prop. Owners v. Schlack
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 23 Diciembre 1998
    ...derived from the Declaration and the bylaws if the bylaws are not inconsistent with the Declaration. See Martin v. Ocean Reef Villas Ass'n, Inc., 547 So.2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), rev. denied, 557 So.2d 35 (Fla. 1990). We see no inconsistency between the Restrictions and the bylaws which ......
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