July 31, 2024
GrayRobinson is proud to announce Shareholder Carlos Reyes successfully represented Plaintiff Richard Smith in Richard Smith v. Cypress Tree Condominium Association, Inc.
From 2016 to 2019, Smith served as the director of the Cypress Tree Condominium Association and lived in a condominium on-site for nine years. During his tenure as director, the board was sued in a derivative action, and a final judgment was entered against the board (including Smith and all other board members individually) for more than $2.9 million.
In March 2023, Smith attempted to sell his condo to a third-party purchaser, and the association provided Smith with an estoppel certificate for the sale showing an assessment of $2.9 million, reflecting the default final judgment as an assessment for amounts owed by Smith to the association. When the association insisted it had lien rights against Smith’s homestead unit, Smith sued the association for declaratory relief and to quiet title.
A bench trial was held on May 8, 2024, before the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, where Carlos presented evidence and testimony from lay and expert witnesses. On July 31, 2024, the court issued a Final Judgment in favor of the Plaintiff finding that Smith’s property is his homestead property pursuant to Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and therefore, was exempted from the association’s default final judgment against the board members. Specifically, the court ruled that the association’s judgment was not an assessment against Smith’s condominium unit property, not an encumbrance against the title, and that Smith had good fee simple title cleared of any cloud associated with the default final judgment.
Carlos has been serving clients throughout Central and South Florida for more than 30 years. He represents asset and loan portfolio managers, private lenders, and investors in complex commercial foreclosure litigation. He has handled prosecuting and defending claims involving breach of contracts, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, and partition actions. Additional litigation experience includes trade secret violations and breach of non-compete agreements.
Read - GrayRobinson Shareholder Carlos Reyes Successfully Represents Client in $2.9 Million Constitutional Homestead Property Rights Case.