VINCENT S. MERCIER v. TURNBERRY ISLE SOUTH CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed April 12, 2023.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-2061
Lower Tribunal No. 20-24567
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Vincent S. Mercier, et al.,
Appellants,
vs.
Turnberry Isle South Condominium Association, Inc.,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, David C.
Miller, Judge.
Civil Justice Law Firm, PA, and Ronnette Gleizer (Hallandale), for
appellants.
Blaxberg, Grayson, Kukoff & Forteza, P.A., and Gaspar Forteza and I.
Barry Blaxberg, for appellee.
Before FERNANDEZ, C.J., and SCALES and MILLER, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See § 718.1255(4)(k), Fla. Stat. (2020) (“An arbitration
decision is . . . final if a complaint for a trial de novo is not filed in a court of
competent jurisdiction in which the condominium is located within 30 days.”);
Johnson v. Levine, 736 So. 2d 1235, 1238 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (holding that
the failure to timely request a trial de novo renders an arbitration decision
final and binding); Neate v. Cypress Club Condo., 718 So. 2d 390, 393 (Fla.
4th DCA 1998) (holding pursuant to section 718.1255 that, even when an
action has been stayed to allow arbitration to be conducted, after the
arbitration results, the party who does not accept the arbitrator’s decision
must still file a new complaint in court for a trial de novo within thirty days).
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