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TO ARBITRATE OR MEDIATE? By Eric Glazer, Esq.

TO ARBITRATE OR MEDIATE? By Eric Glazer, Esq.

  • Posted: Sep 21, 2021
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TO ARBITRATE OR MEDIATE?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Prior to July 1st, 2021 if a condominium dispute arose, the parties were forced to first arbitrate the matter before the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.  The law has now changed and reads as follows:

(a) Before the institution of court litigation, a party to a dispute, other than an election or recall dispute, shall either petition the division for nonbinding arbitration or initiate presuit mediation.

As you can see, now the plaintiff has a choice to start the matter in arbitration or mediation.  So which one do you choose?

If you decide to go to arbitration, your case will be assigned to an arbitrator in Tallahassee.  The arbitrator will read the briefs, hold hearings and ultimately enter an order.  Someone will win and someone will lose.  The loser will pay the winner’s attorney’s fees.  The loser can then file in court for a trial de novo.  In effect, it’s an appeal of the arbitrator’s order and the case starts all over again.  The winner of the trial de novo gets their attorney’s fees and costs from the loser, including the arbitration fees.

So….the risk in going to arbitration is that if you lose, you may wind up not only paying your lawyer, but the other side’s lawyer too.

The alternative is to mediate the dispute.  I have been certified since 2007 as a Circuit Court mediator.  I truly enjoy mediating cases and helping the parties resolve their disputes.  At mediation, the parties appear with their attorneys.  The mediator explains that today is a good day to settle the case on mutually agreeable terms, rather than leave your fate up to a judge or jury.  If an agreement is reached, it is enforceable in a court of law.  The mediator allows the parties to make opening statements, then separates the parties and goes back and forth trying to achieve a settlement.

There is very little risk in going to mediation.  There is no “winner” or “loser” at mediation, so neither party has to worry about paying the other side’s attorney’s fees.  The parties split the cost of the mediator.

When I act as a mediator, I explain to the parties that neither side will get everything they want today, and that if at the end of the day both parties feel a little miserable, I probably achieved a fair result.

 

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HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IF YOU LIVE OUT OF THE STATE OR COUNTRY? By Eric Glazer, Esq.

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IF YOU LIVE OUT OF THE STATE OR COUNTRY? By Eric Glazer, Esq.

  • Posted: Mar 01, 2021
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LOTS OF COMPLAINTS THIS YEAR ABOUT PEOPLE NOT GETTING THE CHANCE TO VOTE BECAUSE THE MAIL IS SLOW. HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IF YOU LIVE OUT OF THE STATE OR COUNTRY?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

This year I am hearing the following complaint more than ever before: I live out of the state, or out of the country and I never received a ballot to vote in the election.

A little over a year ago I was involved in a case where many owners who lived in Finland did not get their ballots timely.  Instead of having their vote not count, someone who lived in the condominium e-mailed them the ballot.  These owners then took that ballot, placed it in a ballot envelope, placed that ballot envelope in another envelope and signed the exterior, and mailed it back to the association usually by overnight mail.  Some owners didn’t bother to use the interior ballot envelope.

The association didn’t want to count these votes.  The association also didn’t want to count the votes of owners who had their ballot envelopes dropped off by a neighbor, claiming that this was voting by proxy.

Read the attached opinion to find out how the arbitrator ruled.  It makes for interesting reading.  The bottom line…….if you’re out of town…..have the ballot e-mailed to you.

To read the case, click here.

 

About HOA & Condo Blog

Eric Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community association law for more than 2

decades and is the owner of Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa.

Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.

See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com

He is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000 Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest of Florida community association members.

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