Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By Tony Doris
Published December 3, 2015
Nine unit owners in a Century Village condo building have
sued another owner who they say has tried to wrest control of the building,
change its rules and bring in renters, including youngsters not eligible to
live in the retirement community.
The unit owners are backed by the 80-something developer of the complex, H.
Irwin Levy, who promised in July that he would use his resources to protect
them from Palm Beach Gardens investor Donald Kelly, who bought most of the
units in their Sheffield O building and gained the voting power to preside
over its association.
The kicker: Kelly, as association president, might have his legal expenses
covered by Century Village’s officers and directors liability insurance.
“So we in effect are defending the black knight,” said David Israel,
president of United Civic Organization, which oversees the sprawling,
600-building development. “It makes my skin crawl.”
Kelly previously declined comment on the dispute. His attorney, Richard S.
Cohen, could not be reached for comment.
Kelly bought about 15 of the Sheffield O’s 26 condo units and obtained an
interest in about two more. The suit, filed Nov. 2, alleges he wrongly
contends he has the right to change the condo rules and lease out his units,
which allegedly would reduce the value of the remaining units by more than
$15,000.
“To the extent that Kelly purports to modify the condominium covenants and
bylaws, such that they no longer guarantee the long-standing and established
retirement neighborhood scheme, Kelly would deprive the affected unit owners
of the very lifestyle they were promised when they purchased their
respective units,” the suit says.
Changes to those covenants require approval from the other owners and of
WPRF Inc., the corporation, controlled by Century Village developer H. Irwin
Levy and his son, Mark, that manages the community’s recreation facilities,
the suit says. Kelly doesn’t have those approvals, it says.
The lead plaintiff in the case, condo owner Nancy Salmi, 71, helped bring
the issue to light several months ago, after investor Kelly sent her a
letter saying he intended to buy her unit.
“I am in the process of taking steps to dissolve the Association of
Sheffield O whereby all of the apartments that I do not own would be forced
to sell to me at the Palm Beach County Appraisers value,” Donald T. Kelly,
wrote to Salmi on March 2.
She was happy to learn in July that the investor — after Levy pledged to
step in — dropped those plans. But the lawsuit says Kelly then went ahead
and retroactively changed rules to legitimize renting his condos.
The lawsuit aims to reverse the rule changes and prevent forced sales at
unfair prices.
Kelly’s alleged attempt to force sales, “goes beyond all bounds of decency
and is odious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the suit
says. His conduct, it says, has caused “severe emotional distress.”
The suit also alleges that Kelly breached his fiduciary duty to the
Sheffield O Condominium Association. If that’s true, the liability insurance
company might rule he is not eligible for coverage, says Joy Vestal, a
member of the United Civic Organization board of directors.
Either way, says UCO president Israel: “It’s problematic over there:
underage people, short-duration rentals — everything most of us came here
not to have.”
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