Two years ago a ruling by the state’s Second District Court of Appeal created a major wrinkle in the acceptance of partial payments by condominium associations when the payments had been endorsed and presented as full and complete remittances of the total outstanding debt owed by unit owners.
The court’s ruling in the case of St. Croix Lane Trust v. St. Croix at Pelican Marsh Condominium Association essentially made it necessary for associations to consult with legal counsel when they received checks for partial payments that were in any way endorsed as representing the full and final payment of assessments owed by an owner. Prior to this ruling, associations were guided by a 2008 ruling by the Third District Court of Appeal which held that associations cannot refuse partial payments of assessments made by or on behalf of owners.
