Boca Raton Association, Management Company Accused Of Locking COVID Positive Couple In Condo.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The COVID captivity lawsuit against the Palmetto Place COA (condo owners association) — and management company First Service Residential — has been kicked out of court. But the kicking is more of a tap with slippers, and neither defendant is in the clear.
(News app readers access our full report).
We reported exclusively in December that condo owners Steven and Nancy Iscowitz claimed that the COA of the high-end Palmetto Place condo building near Mizner Park forced the couple to stay in their unit after testing positive for COVID-19. Their key fobs were allegedly deactivated, access to parts of the building was denied, and they claimed the COA and First Service managers imposed Draconian measures.
Steven and Nancy Iscowitz sued the Palmetto Place COA and First Service Residential, writing: “Defendant First Service Residential through its agents and employees, had no reasonable basis for detaining Steven Iscowitz and Nancy Iscowitz against their wills. No exigency of circumstance existed which could warrant Association’s behavior.”
But Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Howard Coates just granted the the defendants’ motions to dismiss. Judge Coates did not rule on the merits of the case, but that Nancy and Steven Iscowitz, Palmetto Place and First Service were required to enter non-binding arbitration before going to court. Accordingly, the suit is dismissed without prejudice.
Additionally, attorneys for the plaintiffs have several days to file additional information explaining to the judge why he is wrong.
If the case is not resolved in arbitration, there is nothing in the judge’s ruling prohibiting Steve and Nancy Iscowitz from continuing their claim in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Read the ruling below. If it does not appear, access here.
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