ARBITRATION RULINGS: La Costa Beach Club

Sandra E. Schultz v. La Costa Beach Club Resort Condominium Association, Inc.

Case No. 2003-08-3347 (Scheuerman / Amended Summary Final Order / November 21, 2003)

CASE SUMMARY: Board Removes One of Its Own Board Member -- Delinquent Assessments

Bylaw purporting to permit the board to remove a board member from the board for being delinquent in the payment of assessments was invalid. The statute permits only the owners to remove board members by using the recall provision contained in s. 718.112, F.S. Moreover, permitting the board to remove a member has the effect of disenfranchising the unit owners who have the right to elect and remove their representatives on the board. Also, the statute, in prescribing remedies available to the association where an owner fails to pay assessments, provides a list of exclusive remedies which may not be supplemented by the association.

The statute contains no qualifications for a unit owner to serve on the board except for felony convictions. Every unit owner has the right to nominate himself and run for office. A residency requirement for running for the board is per se invalid. If an owner is qualified to run for the board, he is qualified to continue to serve on the board for the remainder of his term and may not be removed for reasons unrelated to those provided by statute. Since the statute contemplates that a board member may resign, a bylaw providing for such automatic de facto resignation upon missing 3 consecutive meetings is not violative of the statute; such a bylaw merely accounts for the abandonment or resignation of the position. Likewise, there was nothing in the history of the amendments to the election statute providing evidence of legislative intent to abolish term limits; hence, term limits remain valid.