New Horizons Condominium Master Association, Inc. v. Harding
A condominium master association appealed a summary judgment that compelled disclosure of audits and declared its budget allocation for bulk cable service ultra vires. The Third District affirmed the audit disclosure but held, as a matter of first impression in Florida, that the business judgment rule is a presumption operating by law that need not be pleaded as an affirmative defense, and that the board's budgeting and assessment decisions were intra vires and thus entitled to business-judgment deference.
Key facts
- New Horizons Condominium Master Association appealed summary judgment that compelled disclosure of audits and declared the board's budget allocation for bulk cable service ultra vires.
- The trial court found the master association lacked authority to include cable service assessments in its annual budget, and granted summary judgment against the association.
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Why it matters
This is the first reported Florida decision squarely holding that the business judgment rule is not an affirmative defense and may be invoked without being pleaded, shifting the pleading and proof burden onto the… — full analysis with a trial
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