The Grandview Palace Condominium Association, Inc. v. Tracey Judge
The Third District affirmed a directed verdict for a condominium unit owner in the Association's breach-of-declaration action, holding that the Association failed to prove the causation element of its contract claim. Proving that the owner's water heater caused the damage would have required the jury to stack an unsupported inference (that the heater was the source) upon further inferences, and the first inference could not be established to the exclusion of the equally reasonable inference that the water came from common element pipes. The court also affirmed evidentiary rulings limiting hearsay within business records.
Key facts
- The Grandview Palace is a 500-plus unit high-rise condominium in North Bay Village; Tracey Judge owns unit 810 and is a member of the Association, and both are bound by the declaration, which makes the Association responsible for maintaining common elements and unit owners responsible for damage they cause and for maintaining their units and fixtures.
- The Association sued Judge for breach of the declaration and unjust enrichment, alleging that leaks from his washing machine and water heater damaged the building.
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Holdings
- The damages element of a breach of contract claim requires a causal connection between the acts complained of and the resulting damage; a plaintiff may recover only if the damages were a…
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Why it matters
This opinion is a strong defense weapon in condominium and community-association water-intrusion litigation, an extremely common category of Florida civil litigation. The practical lesson is that presence of water near… — full analysis with a trial
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