Court denies motion in Cedars tennis case

The Florida Second District Court of Appeals denied a motion filed in March on behalf of Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club that requested a rehearing in the lawsuit involving Cedars West over the use of two hard-surface tennis courts across the street from the condominium.

According to Andre Perron, of the Bradenton law firm Ozark, Perron & Nelson, which represents Cedars West, the decision affirms the May 2010 ruling by Manatee County Judge Janette Dunnigan that found that Cedars West has exclusive rights to the courts. Perron said that the association would move forward with plans to replace the asphalt on the courts and begin construction within 10 days.

“Cedars West is very happy with the end resolution of this case,” said Perron.

The dispute over the courts dates back to an October 2009 lawsuit filed by Cedars West against Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club Inc., which stated that the tennis club took over the courts “by strong arm without the consent of Cedars West,” when tennis club President Randall Langley delivered a letter to Cedars West stating that residents no longer had access to those courts.

Dunnigan ruled that Cedars West has exclusive rights to the courts but ordered the condominium replace the courts within one year.

The appeals court upheld the May 2010 ruling in February, but attorney David Siegal filed a motion March 11 for a rehearing on behalf of Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club.

In the motion, Siegal wrote that the court “misapprehended and overlooked the plain language of the contract which defined ‘abandonment’ of the tennis courts as a failure to be in substantially equivalent condition as they were on Sept. 14, 1981.”

The motion states that the court interfered with the freedom of contract of the involved parties by interpreting terms of the contract to give Cedars West one year to repair the courts before an “abandonment” could occur and to require Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club to give notice before an “abandonment” could be deemed to have occurred.

, who estimated that construction on the court would commence within 10 days. “They look forward to, with their families and guests, enjoying these courts, which have been with the condo since the 1970s.”

Langley cited a 1981 agreement between Cedars West and Hunt Building Corp., the predecessor in title to Cedars Tennis & Fitness Club, which granted Cedars West exclusive access to the courts with the stipulation that failure to maintain and repair the courts, nets and fencing would amount to “constructive abandonment.”

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]