If your association has ever considered filing an eviction lawsuit against a unit owner’s tenant, then you need to know about a recent Third District Court of Appeal case, Shteyn vs. Grandview Palace Condominium Association, decided September 24, 2014. This case is so fresh that the ink isn’t dry yet. In fact, the decision is not final until the 30 day period in which either party may decide to appeal further has lapsed. It is unlikely, but remotely possible. So, let’s take a deeper look.
In Shteyn, the association sought i) to “evict” the tenants, ii) to “eject” the tenants and iii) an injunction (meaning, to force through court order) to prohibit the tenants from violating the association’s rules and regulations. An “ejectment” action is a lawsuit brought by the property owner to remove a party who is unlawfully occupying the property. It differs from an “eviction” in that an eviction requires a landlord-tenant relationship whereas an ejectment does not. For example, if the occupant claims they are not paying rent, then an eviction action may not be the right cause of action. By including both claims for eviction and ejectment, the plaintiff-association covered all of its bases.
After the association filed its lawsuit, the tenants moved out. As a result, the claims for eviction and ejectment were rendered moot. The tenants also argued that the association’s cause of action for injunctive relief should be rendered moot, too. Typically, in order for an association to maintain standing against an owner or tenant, that individual must still maintain their relationship as a resident within the association. Because the tenants moved out, that relationship no longer existed, and thus, the tenants argued they were no longer subject to the court’s jurisdiction in so far as the association’s claim for injunctive relief was concerned. The Court disagreed.
The Court looked to section 718.303 (1)(b)(e), Florida Statutes (2013), which provides, in part, that “[a]ctions for… injunctive relief… may be brought by the association against… [a] unit owner… [a]ny tenant leasing the unit, and any other invitee occupying a unit.” However, the prior tenants admitted that at the time the lawsuit was brought, they were occupying the unit. Therefore, the Court found that the circuit court had subject matter jurisdiction at the time the association filed its lawsuit and that the fact that the tenants moved out after the lawsuit was filed in no way divested the circuit court of its jurisdiction. The Court, quoting another case, provided that “a defendant cannot automatically moot a case simply by ending its unlawful conduct once sued.” In addition to seeking an injunction to enjoin the tenants from violating the association’s rules and regulations, the association also sought an injunction to permanently enjoin the tenants from ever again residing at the condominium. Therefore, the Court determined that the circuit court continued to have subject matter jurisdiction to decide the association’s claim for injunctive relief.
Remember too that ultimately, when an association prevails in a lawsuit against an owner’s tenant, so long as the unit owner was included as a party defendant in the litigation, the unit owner-landlord will ultimately be responsible for the association’s prevailing party attorney’s fees incurred in the lawsuit against the owner’s tenant. With that in mind, a well-educated owner will always intercede and resolve their association’s concerns with the owner’s tenant because it is far less expensive to handle the matter then than it is to be sued as a co-defendant along with the tenant and be responsible for all of the association’s fees and costs. It is like going out to dinner, not eating and then being fully responsible to pay for everybody else’s meal! It is a no-win situation.