The First District Court of Appeals ruled today that the land underlying condominium units at both Beach Club and Portofino Towers is owned by Escambia County, and is thus immune from ad valorem taxation. The twin decisions (Portofino v. Jones and Beach Club v. Jones) reverse rulings from two Escambia County […]

Orlando-based Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (MVC) is a time-share behemoth, owning and operating 60 properties containing 12,800 vacation ownership villas with 410,000 owners in the United States and eight other countries. It is also a massive and illegal racketeering scheme, according to the allegations in a pending lawsuit filed in […]

Can you disinherit your spouse? The short answer is “no”, you cannot totally disinherit your spouse in most circumstances.  Many of our estate planning clients come in with “blended families”.  Later in life marriages, and both of the clients wish to set aside certain things for their children from a […]

PENSACOLA, Fla. (September 2017) – McDonald Fleming Moorhead is proud to announce that Stephen Moorhead was installed as the 2017-2018 Chair of the Board of Directors for The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce. The gavel was officially passed at the Chamber’s 127th Annual Meeting last week. When addressing the attendees, […]

              Today the Florida Supreme Court entered an order declining to hear any further appeal by the City of Pensacola in the Fish House lawsuit.  The lawsuit stemmed from the City’s claim that Seville Harbour was in default of its lease with the City for failing to pay the […]

Homes in Pensacola Beach could become castles under a proposed rule change which would allow for the combination of residential lots. As reported in the Pensacola News-Journal, the Santa Rosa Island Authority, which is the governing body that controls zoning and development regulations on the island, is considering changing a […]

Community association board members in Florida have many legal and fiduciary obligations to the association and property owners. There are also corresponding consequences when those obligations are not met or a board member engages in misconduct. But now there are even more responsibilities and potential civil and criminal liability under […]

Well-crafted commercial leases are designed to address every aspect of the landlord-tenant relationship. For commercial property owners, the lease should maximize cash-flow while minimizing risk, clearly outlining the respective rights and obligations of the parties. But of all the obligations assumed by a commercial tenant, none is more central than […]

As a member of your condominium association board, are you ready to levy a special assessment of thousands of dollars per unit owner? Are your owners prepared to be hit with such a huge liability? If your condo is over 75-feet tall, built before 1994, and lacking fire sprinklers, those […]

Over 25 years ago, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) transformed both the legal and physical landscape of this country. Making facilities and opportunities accessible and available to individuals with disabilities was no longer optional for many if not most businesses and commercial property owners. The ADA has no doubt […]