Community Update – September 2026
September is here, bringing a renewed focus on planning, priorities, and preparation. As Florida communities look ahead to the busy season, this issue of CUP highlights key topics to help boards stay informed and proactive. From election questions and committees to effective communication and understanding artificial intelligence, we have something for you. We also feature Becker’s Legal Update online class, which reviews new laws affecting associations and helps board members meet Florida’s annual legal update requirement. Don’t miss Resilience: Essays by Women in Law, a collection of personal essays authored by women attorneys and professionals across the firm.
Florida Statutes have increasingly emphasized transparency in recent years, particularly in how community association boards communicate with and provide information to their members. But the legislature also recognizes the need for some association records to remain restricted and inaccessible to members. Florence King breaks down the records that remain privileged or otherwise exempt in “Association Records That Are Not Available for Inspection.”
Both Chapter 718 and Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, encourage, recommend, and in some situations even require mediation. Practically speaking, mediation is a supervised settlement negotiation that allows parties to attempt to resolve disputes without the need for litigation. Brandon R. McDowell explains what boards should expect before, during, and after mediation in “What to Expect – Pre-Suit Mediation Edition.”
Florida House Bill 797 creates a comprehensive statutory framework governing derivative actions under newly created Sections 617.0741 through 617.0747 of the Florida Nonprofit Corporations Act. The new law establishes formal procedures for bringing derivative claims and creates new responsibilities for association boards. Bryony G. Swift highlights everything you need to know in “A New Framework for Derivative Lawsuits Against Community Association Boards.”
Contractual privity and economic damages, standing alone, do not invoke the economic loss rule outside products liability. Florida courts, however, have since questioned the application and effects of the rule in particular circumstances, and the scope of the independent-tort requirement remains unsettled. In “THIS CASE: Tiara Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Cos.,” Joseph Markovich emphasizes why associations should obtain qualified legal counsel before asserting or evaluating claims affected by the decision.
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