The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against users of mobility devices. Disney World was recently sued by disabled users of Segways, attempting to overcome Disney World's complete ban of the use of such devices in their Orlando parks. This lawsuit has been pending since 2007 and has made several trips to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The most recent trip involved a class action settlement in which Disney World agreed to design and create special mobility devices similar to Segways that would take the place of these devices, yet satisfy the safety concerns of Disney and its risk management. Although Disney World management originally took the position that any such vehicle would be too dangerous for crowded parks, in a brilliant mediation tactic, an agreement was reached that would allow Disney engineers to create their own similar devices that would satisfy the risk management concerns. It looks like this class action settlement is going to result in new and improved designs for mobility devices to be used by persons with disabilities.

LaBovick Law Group has a dedicated division representing business owners and property owners in ADA litigation. LLG also has a dedicated division to enforce the rights of the disabled. Our two divisions provide dynamic insight for all our ADA clients in fashioning unique resolutions to unique problems. For a free consultation in either division, contact us by clicking here.

Homeowners associations are suffering greatly as a result of many homes in their associations being in foreclosure. When the homeowner stops paying their mortgage they usually stop paying their homeowner association fees and special assessments. The remaining homeowners have to take up the slack for all the necessary maintenance. When a foreclosure is finished, the property passes from the old homeowner to either the bank or a third person who buys it at the foreclosure sale. At that foreclosure sale the homeowner association usually gets all or at least a part of the past owed dues and assessments. Then the new owner is responsible for future dues and all dues and assessments from that point forward.

Apparently in this case, the bank became the new owner and it did not pay the future assessments. It is not clear if they paid the past assessments as they are obligated to do as part of the foreclosure sale. The bank also failed to bring the place into proper repair.

All homeowners associations have the right to foreclose on any of their homes for failure to pay assessments and dues, and for failure to keep the place of proper repair. We see homeowner associations bringing their own foreclosure actions at the same time as the banks are completing their foreclosures before the banks. They then become the owners, but they take it subject to the existing past-due mortgage. They do not have to pay the mortgage because they never received the money from that loan. Remember, it was the previous homeowner that received the loan and used it to pay the prior owner when they bought the house. So now the homeowners association is the owner and therefore has possession, but they don't have to pay the mortgage. They typically rent the unit and pocket the rental money to help with all of the association expenses. The bank gets nothing. When they do this they are still subject to the bank completing its own foreclosure. The new tenant will have to vacate once the bank finishes the foreclosure action. A month-to-month tenancy would solve this problem.

In this case, the bank as the new owner is liable for all association dues and has the obligation, as any homeowner, to keep the place in good condition. When the homeowners association won their own foreclosure against the bank, it was not able to get anyone to buy it for an amount greater than what the association had spent to repair the place. This was the amount they sued the bank for in the foreclosure. The difference between these two sums is called the “deficiency,” and the bank as the current owner remains responsible for this amount. Apparently, the bank decided that it was better to walk away from this unit than to spend the money to pay the association, and continue with the responsibility of maintaining and marketing this unit. The bank now has no further responsibility arising from this unit. The homeowners association will probably win in this case.

For more details on the case Frank Albear, esq. is referring to: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/cerabino-surburban-west-palm-condo-assocation-look/nR3pK/

At one point in time I read that there are hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding support obligations floating out there. Collecting child support from deadbeats is sometimes difficult to do. I recently collected almost $200,000 in past arrearages from a deadbeat’s personal injury settlement. There is good case law supporting the entry of a lien on personal injury proceeds. However, it is not an automatic occurrence. The support recipient must file a motion and get it heard quickly in order to have a valid lien. When I file a motion, I indicate I have sent a copy to the deadbeat, the defendant who is being targeted in the personal injury claim, the defendant’s attorney and their insurance company. Most insurance companies won't risk issuing a check even if the motion is unheard at the time of a settlement. Get the motion heard quickly as having an order enforces your rights even more. Obviously, having a child support arrearage final judgment helps. In the case I mentioned above, I even did a writ of garnishment against the insurance company the day after the deadbeat tendered the settlement release! This all but ensured the entire proceeds were locked up until we got in front of the local Palm Beach County judge.

Is laches a real defense to child-support collection? I say no. There is a plethora of good case law indicating it is almost impossible to successfully argue and prove entitlement to laches. Although I have seen many lawyers try to raise laches in defense of a child support obligation, invariably they are unable to prove the elements of this defense sufficiently to entitle their client to walk away from the support obligation.

Florida's homestead protection prevents creditors from collecting debts against a person's home. However, there are several appellate court decisions that approve the collection of child support debt against a Homestead. In the same case I'm talking about above, I also have an order allowing me to foreclose the more than $400,000 in support arrearages against the deadbeat’s home.

Want some case law supporting these premises? Send me an e-mail to JFields@LaBovick.com, and I will send you back a packet of the orders I have obtained on all of these issues. I am always available as a consulting attorney or referring attorney to do this for you.

There are loads of reasons why America is falling behind. We can look to our failure to produce. We can look to our economy. We can look to our lack of respect for education. We can blame our culture, our morals, our leadership. Literally, we can go on forever looking to the variety of reasons behind Americas ever-lowering status on the world’s stage. But since I used the term LITERALLY, let’s talk about that:

Recently, I read that the global literacy rates are as high as 84%. However, what these studies are finding are that people are not reading anything of relative substance. They are reading “lightly.” In other words, in the age of huge information transfers, emails and quick sound bites over the Internet and TV, people are reading less substantial and significant material. It is as if we are trying to cover more ground and in doing so we can’t get the details of anything we pass by.

Every single demographic group of American adults has declined in their reading throughout the past decade. This is what the National Endowment for the Arts found in their last study. This is the first time in our nation’s history that less than 50% of the American adult population is reading significant literature. While literacy is improving in developing countries (India & China are taking the world economy by storm; funny that their literacy rates are skyrocketing), we in the US are reading less and less deeply than ever before.
Lack of depth is going to be a terrible harbinger for our future ability to lead. Leadership is founded in many principles, but the best leaders are almost always readers. Business leads the world and if our future business leaders read less and less deeply, then we are in trouble.

Why does reading “lightly” vs. “deeply” matter? Because reading deeply means studying character and decision making in process. Deeply reading teaches the reader about character and leadership.

The evidence and benefits of reading are solidly founded. Reading, specifically deep reading, allows the reader to develop all the high level leadership skills that are found in the fully-transformed personality of great leaders. Deep readers learn how to have empathy for their employees, insight into their company and can see into the future for innovation. Reading improves general IQ scores, leads to innovation, increases vocabulary, helps in creativity, increases your verbal skills, raises your social IQ and helps develop your emotional intelligence. All of these traits and talents are necessary to be a great leader.

This blog is founded on the Harvard Business Review excerpt by John Coleman. Coleman noted that greatest business leaders have all been serious readers. Steve Jobs (Apple), Phil Knight (Nike), General Petraeus (anything on Presidents Lincoln & Grant), even Winston Churchill was both an avid reader and an avid writer (Nobel Prize in Literature 1953).

Coleman makes five great suggestions in working deep reading into your life:
- Join a reading group.
- Vary your reading.
- Apply your reading to your work.
- Encourage others.
- Read for fun.

I personally read because it is relaxing; I do not like television, and I have a hard time falling asleep without something to calm my mind. I find that I learn more reading a great book than listening to a class over the computer. I hope, if you haven’t taken the time to pick up a great book in a while, you stop and grab one today.