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Owners Could Be Liable If Claim Is Filed By Uninsured Worker

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By RICHARD WHITE, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 17, 2007

On several occasions, our board president and management company have hired unlicensed or improperly licensed vendors and contractors to do repairs and replacements in the complex.

These unlicensed contractors fail to apply for or obtain construction permits. The board fails to check for proper insurance coverage.

This practice was repeated even after the city notified the association that the proper procedure had to be followed and to properly obtain building permits.

If an accident should take place on our property and a lawsuit follow, would the director liability insurance coverage pay damages? A plaintiff's lawyer could easily discover the circumstances of negligence of our board. What liability would be incurred by all homeowners in the association?

S.P.
Safety Harbor
If there were an accident or injury, the association would be responsible for the expenses and losses. Sometimes your insurance will cover the loss, but in general, it would depend on the accident.

If a worker were seriously injured in a claim that would fall under workers compensation insurance and the contractor did not have such insurance, the claim would fall to the association.

Most association insurance coverage will not cover such accidents. That means that the claim would have to be paid by the members of the association.

I have seen too many boards trying to save money by hiring unlicensed and uninsured contractors, only to find substandard work. Boards need to understand that they are responsible to the members not to take the lower bid, but to engage licensed and insured contactors with good character. The board is responsible for proper operations, not the manager.

The unit next to mine was found to be listed on the Internet offering "fractional ownership."

My building is a residential condominium and has restrictions of a 90-day minimum lease for members who rent out their units. Some people own their units as a family corporation or trust.

To the best of my knowledge, our condominium documents are silent on the issue of fractional ownership. In other words, they do not say you can or cannot sell fractions of the unit. We do not think this is something that the people want, so what can we do?

C.H.

Clearwater

This is a question for your attorney. In looking up "fractional ownership" and "time-share" in the legal dictionary, my old dictionary does not list such phases. Wikipedia, an Internet dictionary, says fractional ownership is a percentage of the share of an expensive asset.

It appears that the owner is trying to sell his unit divided into time periods. In order to be a fractional share, it would fall under FS 721. I am not sure that a condominium owner can transfer such real estate title rights from one statute to another statute unless the documents are modified.

Previous boards did not get an after-dark permit to allow residents to use our pools after sunset. The new board has found out that we must get an after-sunset permit from the county (additional $150 fee plus lighting upgrades) if we want to allow night swimming.

There are a hostile few who claim that residents were always allowed to swim after sunset and that our present board has problems with this group in restricting night swimming. The board has notified them that we do not have the proper permit to allow swimming after sunset.

They continue to violate our permit by swimming at night. Moreover, they become belligerent, vulgar and menacing when approached.

If the county found out that they are swimming at our pools, we could be closed down or fined. Any accidents that occur without the proper permits being in place might not be covered by insurance.

How far can the association go to prevent after-sunset swimming? Would calling the police do any good? Can we fine or ban residents who do not follow community and county rules?

H.M.

Naples

I can think of several actions the board can take. One is to call the county pool inspector and explain the problem. Ask if that office can offer any guidance.

Be frank, and explain that the board is trying to enforce the night activities but some are resistant to the requirements.

Maybe you can place a lock on the pool and pool deck. The problem is that you will need to have someone to open and close the pool each day, a task that will require a dependable person.

I would discuss the matter with your attorney and have him provide guidance and maybe formal notice of the violation. The attorney would provide answers as to fining or other legal actions.

If you add lights, it would be considered a capital improvement and require the vote of the members. This would be one of the most effective ways to inform the defiant group of the members' desires and give them time to address their desires at the meeting.

Call a special meeting of the members, or include it in your annual meeting to vote on the addition of the light and to pay for the night permits. This way, the members can say if they want to pay for the improvements.

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