LAWYER LETTER! We Love Lawyer Letters From HOA Attorneys.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher | BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — An attorney for Palm Meadows, a community in Boynton Beach, wants you to know that its swimming pools are just fine. Matthew Kohen with the law firm Shaw Lewenz in Fort Lauderdale sent us a threatening letter Tuesday demanding that we correct our correct reporting.
It seems we correctly reported on May 16th that Palm Meadows received THREE unsatisfactory swimming pool reports from the Florida Department of Health. We didn’t make it up. Look below. This is a screen shot from the Florida Department of Health.
While we are thrilled that Palm Meadows was able to secure “satisfactory” ratings during a follow-up inspection on May 20th, those ratings don’t eliminate the “unsatisfactory” review days earlier. Attorney Kohen accused us of saying their pools were closed. We never said such a thing. He said we reported that the pools did not meet health and safety standards. We actually didn’t say that either, but let’s be clear: the State of Florida doesn’t just declare a pool to be “unsatisfactory” because it has nothing else to do.
Each of the violations for Palm Meadows lists a violation code of “48.” That, according to the Department of Health, is this: “48/49. Other. Items so marked violate sections of Chapter 64E-9 or FBC not listed above, and are explained in the comments section.” A document provided by Kohen says it’s because the inspector couldn’t get past the locked gate at the pool, at the sauna, and at the wader. But the document also makes it clear: that’s a violation. Actually, that’s three violations.
Here’s part of what Kohen wrote: “In the Article, you state that the Association “drew three failures at a single address” (listing the pool, spa, and wader at 8948 Jodhpur Way on May 7, 2026) and imply that unsatisfactory ratings stem from conditions that “did not meet state health and safety standards.” The overall framing of the article groups the Association with others that had genuine sanitary or maintenance issues, creating the false impression that the Association’s facilities were closed due to unsanitary or unsafe conditions.”
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No, here’s what we wrote: “Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach also drew three failures at a single address. An unsatisfactory rating does not automatically mean a pool has been permanently closed, but it does mean inspectors found conditions that did not meet state health and safety standards at the time of inspection.”
Mr. Kohen: Here’s a link to “Reading Is Fundamental.” And here’s a link to the Florida Bar. For everyone else, here’s a link to Palm Meadows! We wonder how the Luau went.
I LOVE BOCANEWSNOW. Way to tell that lawyer what he can do with himself.