Florida condo owners win legal victory in fight over $35,000 special assessment

A group of Florida condo owners has won a legal victory over their own board in a fight for a whopping special assessment after a judge ordered the association’s leadership to turn over all data and control to a new board.

The owners and condo board of 1060 Brickell Apartmentsa two-tower, 45-story luxury condominium building in Miami has been embroiled in vicious legal battles for about a year.

The Financial District area around Brickell Avenue, with many luxury shops, attracts high-profile residents, including singers Marc Anthony and power couple David and Victoria Beckham.

The condo controversy began with the passage of a stunning $21 million special assessment. Chairman of the management association Jacob Kassel insisted that he was only doing his duty to properly maintain the building.

The assessment amounted to $7.7 million for facade restoration, $3.5 million for repairs and restoration of the parking garage and basement, $2.5 million for general conditions and $1.7 million for repairs and restoration of the roundabout, among other things, according to The real deal.

Owners were dismayed at the amount of money that would come straight out of their pockets, approximately $35,000 per owner, arguing that repairs were not necessary as the building was only 17 years old.

The owners’ allegations also include a lack of transparency about the repairs, an unlicensed technical representative, a rushed deadline to pay the assessment and a board that refused to answer questions.

‘Owners are basically forced to look [Kassel] let them bleed out financially while they act sniveling, arrogant, entitled and careless,” an account called 1060 Brickell Condominium Owners complained X.

Condo owners came together to oust the three-member board (David Treiger was vice president and Paolo Lignarolo was treasurer) and elected a new one in November 2024. The current board subsequently disqualified the three new candidates and managed to retain control of the board.

Then the lawsuits started flying.

The board sued unit owner James Duddeywho led a successful recall (certified by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation) for the Kassel-led board.

Unit owners Dorinda Spahr, Jermaine Jones And Javier Noriega were appointed to the board by a judge in July, and they too subsequently filed their own lawsuit.

Haber Law Attorney Ariella Gutman, who represented the trio, told Realtor.com: “Condominium owners now have a new board that will take over the activities of the Association in all aspects and lead the next elections. The new board is in place until the next elections. [in November].

“This was a hard-fought victory in several cases, both in arbitration and in court. We are pleased that the owners are taking control and allowing the people they voted for to run their association. Nevertheless, these cases and the fact that it took almost an entire year to reach a resolution expose the various nuances and obstacles that the condominium law imposes on owners seeking to make changes or actions by the Board of Directors want to challenge in their community.”

Realtor.com has also contacted an attorney Marc Halpern of Halpern-Rodriguez in Coral Gables, which represents the condo association.

Additionally, unit owners Jessica Bergman And Antonio Sevillano, a couple filed a class action complaint alleging that the board’s approval of the special assessment violated Florida law by failing to describe the special assessment and by not allowing unit owners to vote on it.

Bergman and Sevillano claimed the board’s 2-1 vote on the assessment also violated the property’s condo declaration, according to TRD.

Kassel, a former real estate agent, had done just that told TRD that he believed the great judgment was fully justified.

“If you live in a condominium, you have the responsibility to make sure everything is 100 percent maintained, whereas if you live in a house and the roof collapses, you have the decision whether or not you want to maintain the roof. [elements],” he told the outlet.

“We are not going to allow another collapse of the Champlain Towers to occur in a building that I live in or am responsible for,” he said, referring to the Surfside apartment collapse that killed 98 people due to structural damage that was left unrepaired.

But many owners disagreed. “Jacob Kassel took a catastrophic event and created an opportunity,” one person told TRD.

The owners in particular have been actively working on it Xoften posting vitriolic videos and messages calling out Kassel and the board.

“Are you recording me? Hello, hi! I’m recording you too!” Board Vice Chairman Treiger said in a video posted in November 2024. “Let’s record the whole day, my dear. Spread your lies, call the police, do whatever you want, you little coward… you infected individual.”

He then apparently called the police about the person who recorded him.

With a judge in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court Joseph PerkinsAccording to the latest ruling, the Kassel-led board finally moved into the apartment, at least for now (there are elections again in November) and the owners were delighted.

“In a dramatic turn of events for fed-up condo owners, a Miami-Dade judge has ordered the immediate removal of the incumbent board of the 1060 Brickell Condominium Association after brazenly clinging to power for nearly a year — despite losing a state-mandated recall arbitration and illegally rejecting valid ballots from the owners who allegedly ousted them,” wrote on X, calling the ruling “a hard-fought victory for owners who fought.” Ruthless for almost 12 months to end this abuse of power.”

Realtor.com contacted the account via X and WhatsApp.

Incredibly, it is not 100 percent certain that the tug-of-war is over. “We cannot be sure what the former directors will do and there are several situations to consider as to whether they can challenge this,” Gutman said.

“At this time, they have not done so and have turned the association over to the board elected through the recall and by order of the court.”

Neighborhood wars

The brouhaha, which has seen neighbor turn on neighbor, illustrates how easily owners of homeowners’ associations, condos and co-ops can wage war not only over living conditions – such as noise or unmowed lawns – but also over finances. And how expensive that can be.

Owners had told TRD they had spent half a million dollars on attorney fees, in addition to funding the association’s legal costs through their monthly dues, fighting their own board.

Although the owners claimed that the board’s approval of the special assessment violated Florida law by not allowing unit owners to vote on it, whether or not a vote is taken before an assessment takes place varies by association.

“In some cases a membership vote is required for approval, in other cases it is not,” the building management agency said Association.

Should you buy?

At 1060 and 1050 Brickell there are 12 units For saleranging from $390,000 to $850,000.

The 605 residential units include studios, lofts and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and range from 570 square meters to 2,500 square meters duplex penthouses.

“With a beautiful two-story lobby and equally striking residential units, Avenue on Brickell is a unique luxury home experience,” says the website.

The building comes with amenities such as a 24-hour front desk attendant, valet parking, swimming pool, jacuzzi, business center, fitness center, yoga room, sauna, lounge area, billiards room, massage room, and wine and cigar dressing room.

A two-bedroom in the complex costs $525,000 with $1,368 in monthly fees. Described as “currently the lowest priced 2 bedroom in the entire building,” the listing does not mention whether the appraisal and legal fees are baked into the somewhat high HOA.

Another listing, a 613-square-foot studio for $399,500, has a tempting perk: “Special appraisals paid for by the seller!” it says.

But should buyers invest in a place with so much bad blood?

“I would avoid this community at all costs,” said Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty agent Cara Ameer, which is licensed in Florida and California, Realtor.com tells us.

“The owners will ultimately have to pay for the lawsuit through special assessments and many people may choose to stop paying their dues and feel like they are throwing good money after bad and ultimately just walk away from their unit. I have seen things like this happen and it takes years to recover.”

As for how to avoid a building with so much controversy, Ameer says it may be worth hiring an attorney to take a deep dive into all condo documents, looking for warning signs.

“The best thing you can do if you’re planning to buy a condo is to get involved with the board and condo association so you can have input into the decisions that are made,” Ameer warns.

“Owners don’t want to get involved with their condo association, and they think ignorance is bliss until it isn’t.”