Nearly a year after unit owners at 1060 Brickell, a two-tower condominium complex in Miami, voted to remove their association president, a judge has ordered the board to hand over all records and control of the association.
Jacob Kassel, who was president of the board and led actions such as approving a $21 million special assessment and eliminating electronic voting, is no longer in charge. The court order affects 1060 Brickell Avenue, which consists of 592 units across two towers.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Joseph Perkins ruled in late September that Dorinda Spahr, Jermaine Jones, and Javier Noriega would replace the current board. The previous board was required to turn over all records and property by last Friday. This decision comes as part of ongoing litigation between the association and unit owner James Duddey and others who initiated the recall effort.
The ruling does not end the legal dispute but represents a significant victory for owners who have twice voted to recall their board within the past year. It also upholds an earlier order from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued in July. That order certified one of the recall efforts and directed that the current board be removed immediately with all records handed over within ten business days. However, this order had been appealed by the association.
“This case really illustrates some of the issues with the current versions of the recall laws,” said Jonathan Goldstein of Haber Law, attorney for Duddey, Spahr, Nuñez, and other owners.
Neither Marc Halpern, attorney for the condo association, nor Kassel responded to requests for comment.
“Our outcome followed nearly a year of intense and costly legal battles against a board that refused to step down,” said Dorinda Spahr, now serving as president. “We won this case because a committed group of owners united, they financially supported the cause and they were relentless.”
The new board will serve until at least November’s annual election.
Last November’s official election did not take place because candidates Spahr, Jones, and Noriega were disqualified by Kassel’s board. As a result, Jones and Noriega filed an arbitration petition with state authorities while Spahr joined other unit owners in suing over what they called an improper cancellation based on there being too few candidates—a claim detailed in their lawsuit.
Owners reported spending more than $500,000 on legal fees since last year while also covering association legal costs through monthly dues. They argued that much of the special assessment—nearly $8 million earmarked for façade restoration and $3.5 million for garage work—was unnecessary given that 1060 Brickell was completed only 17 years ago.
In another lawsuit filed last December by Jessica Bergman and Antonio Sevillano seeking class action status (amended in January), it was alleged that passage of the special assessment violated Florida law due to lack of description or owner vote. They also claimed that approval by just two out of three board members breached condo rules.
Halpern previously told The Real Deal this summer that maintaining property safety is part of fiduciary duty; Kassel echoed these priorities regarding repairs.
Judge Perkins’ latest order followed a September 26 hearing where he found Duddey likely to succeed on his recall effort. Perkins wrote that violations by the association caused “irreparable harm” under Florida Condominium Act provisions; granting an injunction would “serve the public interest.”
