Terms Used In Florida Statutes 719.304

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Association: means the corporation for profit or not for profit that owns the record interest in the cooperative property or a leasehold of the property of a cooperative and that is responsible for the operation of the cooperative. See Florida Statutes 719.103
  • Cooperative: means that form of ownership of real property wherein legal title is vested in a corporation or other entity and the beneficial use is evidenced by an ownership interest in the association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession granted by the association as the owner of all the cooperative property. See Florida Statutes 719.103
  • Cooperative documents: means :
    (a) The documents that create a cooperative, including, but not limited to, articles of incorporation of the association, bylaws, and the ground lease or other underlying lease, if any. See Florida Statutes 719.103
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Unit: means a part of the cooperative property which is subject to exclusive use and possession. See Florida Statutes 719.103
  • Voting interests: means the voting rights distributed to the association members as provided for in the articles of incorporation. See Florida Statutes 719.103
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01

(1) If there is an omission or error in any cooperative document, or in other documents required by law to establish the cooperative, the association may correct the error or omission by an amendment to the cooperative document, or the other documents required to create a cooperative, in the manner provided in the document to amend the document, or, if none is provided, then by vote of a majority of the voting interests. The amendment is effective when passed and approved. This procedure for amendment cannot be used if such an amendment would materially or adversely affect property rights of unit owners, unless the affected owners consent in writing. This subsection does not restrict the powers of the association to otherwise amend the cooperative documents, or other documentation, but authorizes a simple process of amendment requiring a lesser vote for the purpose of curing defects, errors, or omissions when the property rights of unit owners are not materially or adversely affected.
(2) If there is an omission or error in a cooperative document, or other documents required to establish the cooperative, which would affect the valid existence of the cooperative and which may not be corrected by the amendment procedures in the cooperative documents or this chapter, then the circuit courts have jurisdiction to entertain petitions of one or more of the unit owners therein, or of the association, to correct the error or omission, and the action may be a class action. The court may require that one or more methods of correcting the error or omission be submitted to the unit owners to determine the most acceptable correction. All unit owners and the association and mortgagees of a first mortgage of record must be joined as parties to the action. Service of process on owners may be by publication, but the plaintiff shall furnish all unit owners not personally served with process with copies of the petition and final decree of the court by certified mail, return receipt requested, at their last known residence address. If an action to determine whether the cooperative documents or other documents comply with the mandatory requirements for the formation of a cooperative contained in this chapter is not brought within 3 years of the filing of the cooperative documents, the cooperative documents and other documents shall be effective under this chapter to create a cooperative, whether or not the documents substantially comply with the mandatory requirements of this chapter. However, both before and after the expiration of this 3-year period, circuit courts have jurisdiction to entertain petitions permitted under this subsection for the correction of the documentation, and other methods of amendment may be utilized to correct the errors or omissions at any time.
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