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CAN A C.A.M. CERTIFY A DIRECTOR?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published June 15, 2015
Certain issues are more near and dear to my heart than others.
This is one of those issues.
For those of you that have ever attended a Board Certification
Course that I teach, I hope you would agree that a lot of hard
work and preparation goes into the teaching of the course. Each
slide discusses a new topic and a new Florida statute that I try
to interpret for you and teach to the audience. Over two
decades of experience practicing community association law in
the courts of Florida are brought to the seminar, and I answer
dozens upon dozens of questions about the laws, how they apply
in your community and whether or not they even apply in your
community. A whole section of the course is devoted to how it
may be illegal for certain Florida statutes to apply in your
community unless the “as amended from time to time” language
appears in your governing documents. You tell me about specific
facts that are happening in your community and I try to give
answers to your questions and concerns by interpreting the
statutes, the case law, The Florida Administrative Code, and
other federal statutes and codes.
Of course, not only do I teach the course and certify directors,
but so do numerous other well qualified attorneys throughout the
state.
Here’s the problem……so do community association managers.
Despite the fact that they have a license to practice community
association management, and may be licensed for many years, in
my humble opinion they are not qualified to teach the law and
certify directors.
As I wrote two weeks ago, The Florida Supreme Court just wrote
an opinion which dramatically limited what a Florida Community
Association Manager can and cannot do. The Florida Supreme
Court made it abundantly clear that a C.A.M. cannot interpret a
statute or case law for the association. If they cannot
interpret a statute or case law for the association they work
for, why is it OK for them to teach them to the masses?
Here is what the Florida Supreme Court said constitutes the
practice of law:
In determining whether the giving of advice and counsel and the
performance of services in legal matters for compensation
constitute the practice of law it is safe to follow the rule
that if the giving of the advice and performance of the services
affect important rights of a person under the law, and if the
reasonable protection of the rights and property of those
advised and served requires that the person giving such advice
possess legal skill and a knowledge of the law greater than such
possessed by the average citizen, then the giving of such advice
and the performance of such services by one for another as a
course of conduct constitutes the practice of law.
The practice of law also includes the giving of legal advice and
counsel to others as to their rights and obligations under the
law and the preparation of legal instruments, including
contracts, by which legal rights are either obtained, secured or
given away, although such matters may not then or ever be the
subject of proceedings in a court.
I guess a C.A.M. may argue that if they aren’t charging for the
course they are not violating the law. But should that be the
standard? Money? Is it OK for a CAM who might have passed their
test a month ago to now be able to give advice and certify
directors to the same extent as an attorney with experience in
the field, as long as they are not charging for it? Should
someone be allowed to practice medicine, as long as they don’t
charge for it?
And before anybody runs their mouth and says that I’m trying to
protect myself and other lawyers, read my prior blogs and listen
to prior radio shows. I’m on record repeatedly as supporting
the C.A.M.s in their fight to be able to do more without being
accused of practicing law. However, when it comes to actually
practicing law and teaching law at seminars to certify
directors, I have to draw the line. Directors who wind up being
misinformed about the law place their association in harms way.
Wrong legal advice can subject the association to not only fines
and penalties from the D.B.P.R., but potential large judgments
that can have significant impact on the association, the owners
and potentially directors in their individual capacities. It is
imperative that if the “certification” requirement is to have
any real meaning, any real benefit to the community association
directors, they learn the law from people who are qualified to
teach it and answer their questions, and that can only be a
licensed Florida attorney.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated from
the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for more than 2
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decades and is the owner of Glazer
and Associates, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples,
Fort Myers and Tampa.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host
of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs
at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the
State of Florida that designed a course that certifies
condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium
Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000
Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit
Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated
dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric
also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the
best interest of Florida community association members.
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