A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge wiped out more than three decades of financial precedent at the Key Colony condominium this week, siding with EmeraldBay in a dispute over maintenance fees at the island’s largest condo complex. The ruling comes the same week an owner election led to the ouster of Key Colony President David McDanal, a proponent of the suit.

The decision could mean that residents of the other three Key Colony buildings will have to pay EmeraldBay’s legal fees and possibly refund some maintenance fees paid in the past. And it could mean that going forward, all 1,179 unit owners might have to shoulder increased collection costs at the seaside complex. A closed legal meeting was set for Monday. Key Colony is a miniature city in Key Biscayne with an ocean beach, pools, restaurants, a shopping center, and saunas. Apartment owners at Key Colony are members of both their own association and the master Homeowners’ Association, which manages all of those amenities, the roads, and campus security. Judge Migna Sanchez-Lorens rejected the central demand of the HOA’s lawsuit, that EmeraldBay be forced to continue paying the full HOA fees for each of its 286 units, even if individual unit owners are delinquent. Although Sanchez-Lorens acknowledged the history of making the full payments, she ruled the contract binding the HOA to the four buildings was “clear and unambiguous.”

The EmeraldBay condominium, one of four buildings at the posh Key Colony complex on Key Biscayne

 

She said EmeraldBay only needs to remit fees it collects and is not required to also be a “guarantor” for non-paying owners. That, she said, would amount to rewriting a contract, something the law forbids.

“It is well-settled under Florida law that courts are not authorized to rewrite contract terms,” she wrote. The judge also granted EmeraldBay’s counterclaims against the HOA, saying she will rule on setting amounts at a later date.

 

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Key Colony HOA is in dramatic flux after two directors representing the Botanica building, McDanal and Mario Bueno, were soundly defeated in elections this past week. McDanal, who supported the case against EmeraldBay, said he had not read the ruling and declined comment. The complex is in the midst of several expensive repair and renovation projects.

The newly elected Key Colony board has yet to choose a president, said Giovanni Volpe, the HOA’s vice president. He said he’d been informed of the court ruling and said the board of directors would meet to decide the next steps. An initial meeting to select a new president deadlocked, and another vote is set for after Monday’s legal meeting.

A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge wiped out more than three decades of financial precedent at the Key Colony condominium this week, siding with EmeraldBay in a dispute over maintenance fees at the island’s largest condo complex. The ruling comes the same week an owner election led to the ouster of Key Colony President David McDanal, a proponent of the suit.

The decision could mean that residents of the other three Key Colony buildings will have to pay EmeraldBay’s legal fees and possibly refund some maintenance fees paid in the past. And it could mean that going forward, all 1,179 unit owners might have to shoulder increased collection costs at the seaside complex. A closed legal meeting was set for Monday.

Key Colony is a miniature city in Key Biscayne with an ocean beach, pools, restaurants, a shopping center, and saunas. Apartment owners at Key Colony are members of both their own association and the master Homeowners’ Association, which manages all of those amenities, the roads, and campus security.

Judge Migna Sanchez-Lorens rejected the central demand of the HOA’s lawsuit, that EmeraldBay be forced to continue paying the full HOA fees for each of its 286 units, even if individual unit owners are delinquent.

Although Sanchez-Lorens acknowledged the history of making the full payments, she ruled the contract binding the HOA to the four buildings was “clear and unambiguous.” She said EmeraldBay only needs to remit fees it collects and is not required to also be a “guarantor” for non-paying owners. That, she said, would amount to rewriting a contract, something the law forbids.

“It is well-settled under Florida law that courts are not authorized to rewrite contract terms,” she wrote. The judge also granted EmeraldBay’s counterclaims against the HOA, saying she will rule on setting amounts at a later date.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Key Colony HOA is in dramatic flux after two directors representing the Botanica building, McDanal and Mario Bueno, were soundly defeated in elections this past week. McDanal, who supported the case against EmeraldBay, said he had not read the ruling and declined comment. The complex is in the midst of several expensive repair and renovation projects.

The newly elected Key Colony board has yet to choose a president, said Giovanni Volpe, the HOA’s vice president. He said he’d been informed of the court ruling and said the board of directors would meet to decide the next steps. An initial meeting to select a new president deadlocked, and another vote is set for after Monday’s legal meeting.

H. Frances Reaves, who leads the Oceansound building, said her association will discuss whether it will keep paying full fees after the ruling. “If we have a delinquent owner, we move on them as soon as the law allows,” she said.

The ruling is a victory for EmeraldBay and its former president, Louisa Conway, whose board had authorized cessation of paying uncollected HOA fees. Conway did not return a call for comment, but in her deposition, she said that having to “front” the money to Key Colony meant the building had to make “sacrifices” for its residents, without being specific.

In another deposition in February, former EmeraldBay President Jorge Cavalier said the decision to stop paying the full amount of HOA fees came during the COVID-19 pandemic and said peak delinquency rates were “10 to 15 percent.”