indemnification

does any one know if a board member has ever been sucssfully sued for breech of fiduciary responsibility in the state of florida?

any attorneys out there?

any case law in this area?

Not a lawyer - just a board member who attends a lot of classes. I have some references from a class out here on Fiduciary responsibility but in the material it lists some Association cases in Fla. which may help you in your research - However the case reference all have names in them... That would break the rules-

HOAtalk moderator - are we granted permission when we are typing about research of and reference to case law????

Here are a few, these don't include the cases where the developer sued as a board member

First case: In this one the court held that individual association members were not entitled to recover damages against board members for breach of fiduciary duty because they did not prove they suffered individual harm based on the conduct of board members.

Camper Corral, Inc. v. Perantoni, 801 So. 2d 990 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2001)

2) An officer of an association is bound to act with the same duty owed by a member of the board of directors.
Oceancrest Condominium Apartments, Inc. v. Donner, 504 So.2d 447 (Fla. App. 4 Dist. 1987)

3)Two members of a condominium association board breached their fiduciary duty to the association when they purchased common area and an associated recreational facilities lease.
Florida Discount Properties v. Windermere Condominium, Inc., No. 4D00-3002, Fla, Dist. Ct. App., June 20, 2001

4) Association's cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty by directors entering into 99-year recreation lease does not begin to accrue until damage has occurred.
Penthouse North Association, Inc. v. Lombardi, 461 So.2d 1350 (Fla. 1985)

5) A court applied the business-judgment rule to determine whether a director had breached a fiduciary duty in maintaining, repairing, or replacing association property.
Sonny Boy, L.L.C. v. Bhagwan Asnani, No. 5D03-59, Fla. App. Ct., May 28, 2004

6) Although a condominium statute may impose a fiduciary relationship between the association and unit owner, that relationship does not necessarily extend to prospective purchasers, thus the association has no duty to disclose structural defects to non-unit owners.
Maillard v. Dowdell, 528 So. 2d 512 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988) This one may be outdated

Joe

Yes, you can reference public cases that have been published. Thanks for asking.

Joe,
Okay, you got mu curiosity up and I have wondered for years, how the non sueing of the developer got into my sets of Documents. I went to 720;3075 under "Prohibited Clauses' and this is sitting big and bold for all to read. I wonder when it was written so I'll research it now.

720.3075 Prohibited clauses in association documents.--

(1) It is declared that the public policy of this state prohibits the inclusion or enforcement of certain types of clauses in homeowners' association documents, including declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, or any other document of the association which binds members of the association, which either have the effect of or provide that:

(a) A developer has the unilateral ability and right to make changes to the homeowners' association documents after the transition of homeowners' association control in a community from the developer to the nondeveloper members, as set forth in s. 720.307, has occurred.

(b) A homeowners' association is prohibited or restricted from filing a lawsuit against the developer, or the homeowners' association is otherwise effectively prohibited or restricted from bringing a lawsuit against the developer.

(c) After the transition of homeowners' association control in a community from the developer to the nondeveloper members, as set forth in s. 720.307, has occurred, a developer is entitled to cast votes in an amount that exceeds one vote per residential lot.

Such clauses are declared null and void as against the public policy of this state.

(2) The public policy described in subsection (1) prohibits the inclusion or enforcement of such clauses created on or after the effective date of s. 3, chapter 98-261, Laws of Florida