Photo of Steven Gendreau

Steven is a member of the Tort and Insurance Litigation team at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. based out of the firm's Fort Myers, Florida. He handles various insurance defense claims involving premises liability, automobile, and personal injury matters. Steven also handles maritime law. He is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts.

Steven received his B.A. from University of South Florida and his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. He may be reached at steven.gendreau@henlaw.com.

Forgetting to turn on the air conditioner before heading back up north for the summer and coming back to find mold growth.

An undetected pipe leak.

Forgotten running faucets that spill over onto the floor and beyond.

These types of incidents can be inconvenient and expensive for anyone, but they pose a heightened threat to any of the persons living in the approximately 1.5 million residential condominium units in Florida.

By its nature, condominium ownership requires cooperation and some forfeited freedom of its residents by putting neighbors in close proximity to each other with shared common elements. As summarized by Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal,

[c]ondominium unit owners comprise a little democratic sub society of necessity more restrictive as it pertains to use of condominium property than may be existent outside the condominium organization.”

Hidden Harbour Estates, Inc. v. Norman, 309 So.2d at 181–82. This close proximity of living creates an expanded zone of risk, with the action (or inaction) of one person potentially affecting multiple neighbors.

As a result, unit owners are charged with being more diligent in the use of their units. For example, some condominiums pass rules regarding the frequency of cleaning out dryer vents to reduce the risk of a fire. In a single family residential home, neglecting to change a dryer vent can be done at one’s own risk; in a condominium where a fire can quickly cause widespread destruction to an entire building, that risk is unknowingly being assumed by all of the unit owners – not just the resident who opts to run the dryer for a fifth time instead of folding laundry.

But regardless of the language in governing documents that require owners to maintain their units, or take certain actions and refrain from others, accidents happen. When damage results, who is responsible? More often than not, the answer to the question “who is responsible for fixing this?” is, frustratingly for owners and associations, “it depends.” And it depends on a number of factors.

Maintenance Obligations

Continue Reading Distinguishing between maintenance responsibility and financial responsibility in the wake of damage to condominium property

construction defectFlorida’s construction industry has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it is newly constructed homes or renovations to existing homes, the construction industry has weathered the need for residential construction with surprising strength. However, the boom of new construction projects has accompanied an uptick in litigation concerning construction problems, such as design defects, poor workmanship and code violations.

What is a Chapter 558 Notice?

Florida’s Legislature enacted Chapter 558 (“Ch. 588”), known as the construction defect statute, to promote communication between the parties and potentially resolve disputes without the need for litigation to combat the marked increase in court filings.

A property owner alleging a construction defect must provide the contractor, subcontractor, supplier, design professional, and others with written notification of the alleged defect(s) at least 60 days before filing a lawsuit, describing that defect in “reasonable detail.”

Upon receipt of a Ch. 558 Notice, contractors may forward “downstream” notices to subcontractors, suppliers or design professionals whom it reasonably believes is responsible for each defect specified in the notice of claim, noting the specific defect and party responsible.

What qualifies as a construction defect?

A “construction defect” is defined by Florida Statute 558 as any deficiency arising from the construction of a property from the installation of defective material; the work performed results in building code violations; and/or the property’s design is flawed or deviates from the industry standards.

What happens after a contractor receives a Ch. 558 Notice?

Continue Reading FAQ: Construction Defects and Florida Statute 558

wire fraudBuying a new home is meant to be an exciting time. In the past several years, especially with today’s sizzling housing market, real estate transactions have increasingly involved sending funds via wire transfer. In typical real estate transactions, buyers and mortgage lenders wire purchase funds to an escrow agent.

The very nature of real estate transactions — large amounts of money transferring between parties — makes them a prime target for criminals. Unfortunately, criminals are increasingly targeting the real estate industry with compromised emails containing fraudulent wire instructions turning any initial excitement into gloom.

A hacker’s playbook

Once hackers gain access to an email account of a real estate agent, a title company, or a consumer, they will monitor messages to find someone in the process of buying a home. If they can hack into a party’s email, they can monitor the communications and swoop in with their own “spoofed” email. The spoofed email address is often indistinguishable from the correct version, and the hacker and will duplicate email signatures, fonts, and other formatting specifications making it appear to look authentic. The hacker will then send fraudulent wire transfer instructions to unsuspecting buyers to steal closing costs or down payments.

Increased litigation

Continue Reading Buyer beware – wire fraud is on the rise!