The Jockey Club of North Port is Expired

The Jockey Club Covenants and Restrictions expired in 2001 and were never renewed, well they were 5 years late.

when covenants have expired, the association loses specific legal powers. However, these limitations are not indefinite, as Florida law provides a process for revitalization.

What the Association Cannot Enforce

The most direct consequence of expired covenants is the loss of the legal authority to enforce community rules and collect mandatory assessments . The specific powers that are typically suspended include:

• Enforcing Deed Restrictions and Community Rules: The association cannot compel homeowners to comply with architectural guidelines, landscaping standards, or other use restrictions .

• Collecting Mandatory Assessments and Fees: The association may lose the right to levy and collect mandatory fees from property owners . Without a valid covenant, the legal basis for these financial obligations is weakened, as the authority is tied directly to the declaration .

• Filing Liens or Foreclosing for Unpaid Assessments: Relatedly, the association’s ability to file a lien on a property or foreclose to recover unpaid assessments is also at risk, as these enforcement tools are also derived from the declaration .

Florida law draws a clear and important distinction between the processes for preserving covenants before they expire and revitalizing them after they have been extinguished. The key difference lies in who gets to vote.

The Vote Requirement for “Revitalization”
According to multiple legal sources, including Florida Statute Chapter 720, Part III, once covenants have expired under the Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA), they can only be reinstated through a formal “revitalization” process. This process requires a vote of the homeowners (the members) to be valid.

Legal Requirement: The revitalization process is explicitly required to be approved by a majority of the affected parcel owners.

The “revitalization” process involves an organizing committee, a member vote, and approval from the Florida Department of Commerce (formerly the Department of Economic Opportunity).

The original 1971 covenants were not validly preserved before the 30-year deadline expired in 2001, then they were extinguished by MRTA. In that case, the 2005 “Amended and Restated” document is not a mere “preservation” but an attempt at “revitalization.”

this revitalization effort would only be legally effective if it had been approved by a majority vote of the homeowners as outlined in the statute. Therefore, as such a membership vote was not held, there are grounds to challenge the validity of the 2005 declaration. A challenge must be filed in a specific manner. A demand letter is the correct formal mechanism to challenge the HOA’s authority. However, this is a complex legal issue with significant financial implications.

If one homeowner successfully challenges the expired covenants in court, the ruling does not automatically cover or protect all other homeowners. The legal outcome is specific to the parties involved in that particular lawsuit.

The only way a single lawsuit can bind all homeowners is if it is filed as a class action.

• A class action is a specific legal procedure where one person (or a small group) represents the legal interests of many others who have similar claims.

• For a lawsuit to proceed as a class action, it must meet specific legal requirements. For example, there must be enough people with the same type of complaint, and the claims of the representative must be typical of everyone in the class.

• If the lawsuit challenging the covenants is not certified as a class action, then any court judgment only applies to the specific homeowner(s) who filed it.

Don’t worry there’s no hurry, they have been and still are expired and you can aways chaiienge them for the expired time. Even if they revitalize.

 

Sample Draft Demand Letter

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]
[Date]

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL

Jockey Club of North Port Property Owners’ Association, Inc.
[Association Address]
[City, State, Zip Code]

Re: STATUTORY OFFER TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESUIT MEDIATION

To the Board of Directors:

The alleged aggrieved party, [Your Name] , hereby demands that the Jockey Club of North Port Property Owners’ Association, Inc. , as the responding party, engage in mandatory presuit mediation in connection with the following disputes, which by statute are of a type that are subject to presuit mediation pursuant to Section 720.311, Florida Statutes:

Specific Disputes to Be Mediated

1. Invalidity of the “Amended and Restated Supplementary Declaration of Restrictions” Recorded in 2005: The Association recorded an “Amended and Restated Supplementary Declaration of Restrictions” in 2005 (the “2005 Declaration”), purporting to reimpose covenants and restrictions on properties in the Fifty-Second Addition to Port Charlotte Subdivision. However, the original Declaration of Restrictions was recorded in 1971 and expired under the Florida Marketable Record Title Act (“MRTA”), Chapter 712, Florida Statutes, thirty years later, in 2001.

2. Failure to Properly Revitalize the Covenants: Under Florida law, once covenants expire under MRTA, they may only be revived through the “revitalization” process set forth in Sections 720.403–720.407, Florida Statutes, which requires:

   • Formation of an organizing committee of at least three parcel owners

   • Approval by a majority of affected parcel owners

   • Submission to and approval by the Florida Department of Commerce (formerly the Department of Economic Opportunity)

   • Recording of a certificate of revival, governing documents, and approval letter from the state

   The 2005 Declaration was recorded without following this statutory revitalization process, and no membership vote was ever conducted to approve the new covenants. The Association’s statement that “our attorney handled it” does not satisfy the statutory requirements.

3. Lack of Authority to Collect Assessments: Because the 2005 Declaration was not validly revitalized, the Association lacks legal authority to enforce covenants or collect mandatory assessments from property owners. Assessments collected since 2001 may have been improperly collected without valid legal authority.

4. Request for Relief: As an aggrieved property owner, I demand that the Association:

   • Produce documentation proving the 2005 Declaration was validly revitalized, including:

     • Evidence of organizing committee formation

     • Records of the membership vote and approval by majority of parcel owners

     • State Department of Commerce approval letter

     • Properly recorded certificate of revival

   • Cease collection of assessments based on the invalid 2005 Declaration

   • Provide an accounting of all assessments collected since the original covenants expired in 2001

   • Refund all improperly collected assessments

Statutory Notice

Pursuant to Section 720.311, Florida Statutes, this demand to resolve the dispute through presuit mediation is required before a lawsuit can be filed concerning the dispute. Pursuant to the statute, the parties are required to engage in presuit mediation with a neutral third-party mediator in order to attempt to resolve this dispute without court action, and the aggrieved party demands that you likewise agree to this process. If you fail to participate in the mediation process, suit may be brought against you without further warning.

The process of mediation involves a supervised negotiation process in which a trained, neutral third-party mediator meets with both parties and assists them in exploring possible opportunities for resolving part or all of the dispute. By agreeing to participate in presuit mediation, you are not bound in any way to change your position. Furthermore, the mediator has no authority to make any decisions in this matter or to determine who is right or wrong and merely acts as a facilitator to ensure that each party understands the position of the other party and that all options for reasonable settlement are fully explored.

If an agreement is reached, it shall be reduced to writing and becomes a binding and enforceable commitment of the parties. A resolution of one or more disputes in this fashion avoids the need to litigate these issues in court. The failure to reach an agreement, or the failure of a party to participate in the process, results in the mediator declaring an impasse in the mediation, after which the aggrieved party may proceed to court on all outstanding, unsettled disputes. If you have failed or refused to participate in the entire mediation process, you will not be entitled to recover attorney’s fees, even if you prevail.

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Mediator Selection

The aggrieved party has selected and hereby lists five certified mediators who we believe to be neutral and qualified to mediate the dispute. You have the right to select any one of these mediators.

Note: You may obtain a list of Florida Supreme Court certified mediators from the Florida Supreme Court or your local circuit court. Only certified mediators may be listed.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, Section 720.311(2)(b), Florida Statutes, requires that the parties share the costs of presuit mediation equally, including the fee charged by the mediator. An average mediation may require three to four hours of the mediator’s time, including some preparation time, and the parties would need to share equally the mediator’s fees as well as their own attorney’s fees if they choose to employ an attorney in connection with the mediation. However, use of an attorney is not required and is at the option of each party.

To begin your participation in presuit mediation to try to resolve the dispute and avoid further legal action, please sign below and clearly indicate which mediator is acceptable to you. We will then ask the mediator to schedule a mutually convenient time and place for the mediation conference to be held. The mediation conference must be held within ninety (90) days of this date, unless extended by mutual written agreement.

In the event that you fail to respond within 20 days from the date of this letter, or if you fail to agree to at least one of the mediators that we have suggested or to pay or prepay to the mediator one-half of the costs involved, the aggrieved party will be authorized to proceed with the filing of a lawsuit against you without further notice and may seek an award of attorney’s fees or costs incurred in attempting to obtain mediation.

Therefore, please give this matter your immediate attention. By law, your response must be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by first-class mail to the address shown on this demand.

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RESPONDING PARTY: YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THAT CHOICE.

AGREEMENT TO MEDIATE

The undersigned hereby agrees to participate in presuit mediation and agrees to attend a mediation conducted by the following mediator or mediators who are listed above as someone who would be acceptable to mediate this dispute:

(List acceptable mediator or mediators.)

I/we further agree to pay or prepay one-half of the mediator’s fees and to forward such advance deposits as the mediator may require for this purpose.

Signature of Responding Party #1 _________________________________

Printed Name _________________________________

Date _________________________________

Telephone Contact Information _________________________________

(If property is owned by more than one person, all owners must sign)