Legal update

It’s not often that I discuss association legal issues in a public forum, because as Board members we are usually advised to keep information about ongoing litigation confidential. But since the person responsible for most of that litigation has been using his extensive email distribution list to spread misinformation about these cases, some unit owners have asked me to help them sort out the facts.

Most of you know Ilan Weiss as the vulgar, vicious author of the unending barrage of slanderous blast emails he has been directing against the association and members of its Board of Directors for the past several years. What you may not know is that over the last year alone, he has caused the association to spend tens of thousands of dollars in litigation expenses as a result of the many frivolous and malicious lawsuits and complaints he has filed. Mr. Weiss and his lawyer Blane Carneal currently have no fewer than six cases pending against the association or members of the Board of Directors. That means that association funds that could otherwise be going toward speeding up improvements to the property or further reducing maintenance fees are instead being spent on legal fees thanks to the insatiable greed and spitefulness of Mr. Weiss and his attorney. 

In one of these cases, Mr. Weiss sued me for accurately calling him “dishonest” in an email/blog post in which I refuted some of his many false accusations regarding the association. All owners, especially anyone who may be considering joining the Board of Directors, should know that the association’s governing documents and insurance policy indemnify Board members and provide insurance coverage against lawsuits arising from the performance of their duties as Directors. Without such coverage, members of the Board of Directors – and our entire association – would be at the mercy of lawsuit-happy bullies like Mr. Weiss, who has often stated his desire to bankrupt any Board member or association volunteer he dislikes or disagrees with by dragging them to court. But last year a former board member, in an email in which she claimed to be speaking for the association, urged the insurance carrier to deny me coverage as a Director. When the rest of the Board found out about her conduct, she resigned from the Board along with two other board members who may have been involved in the scheme. But their resignations came too late: the insurance company decided to use that email as an excuse to deny coverage, which forced the association to sue the company for breach of contract. It’s important to note that under Florida law, when an insurance carrier is successfully sued for improperly denying coverage, the carrier must pay all the plaintiff’s attorney fees in the case. And several weeks ago, in a very positive development in the case, the judge entered a preliminary order essentially stating that the insurance company was wrong to deny coverage. That means the association can expect to get all its money back in one of two ways: either as a result of the judge’s final ruling in the case, or from a pre-trial settlement in which the carrier opts to avoid trial by agreeing to reimburse us for all our fees.

Regarding board member Wendy E. Hernandez, she is currently under criminal prosecution for physically assaulting a fellow board member last year. Mr. Weiss’ claim that the association is paying for this prosecution is just another example of his extreme dishonesty and ignorance of the law. As any fifth-grade social studies student could probably explain to him, criminal prosecutions are paid for by the state, not by any private individual or entity such as a condo association. The state attorney’s office decided to prosecute based on the facts and evidence in the case, not because I or anyone on the Board asked them to. Their decision had nothing to do with the association, and International Village is not involved in the case in any way, shape or form.  Mr. Weiss’ idiotic and defamatory claim that our association attorney Elaine Gatsos represented me at a deposition in that case just demonstrates what a contemptible liar he is. I have forwarded Mr. Weiss’ email to the state attorney since there may be criminal and/or civil penalties for interfering with, obstructing, or deliberately disseminating misinformation about an ongoing criminal prosecution.  A few years ago, Mr. Weiss was sued for defamation by a former board member and lost. He may have to be sued and/or prosecuted again to learn his lesson.

John Labriola
International Village President