Posted:
The law firm ("Becker") that wrote the piece that CathyA3 cites above is the same law firm that, as of a week or so ago, will be paying $31 million to the Surfside survivors.
Excerpts from a Sep 2021 report on the Becker law firm:
Becker attorneys have represented the Champlain Towers South Condominium, on and off, for over 30 years, including two instances when the condo underwent significant renovations.
The firm has marshalled its condo clientele to deliver torrents of “grassroots” attacks on legislation that could have made condos safer.
As elected officials across the state debate potentially costly new regulations to make condos safer, Becker is sure to exert influence. The firm says it represents more than 4,000 condo buildings in Florida. It has lobbying agreements with city and county governments throughout the state. One of its attorneys, Joseph Adams, sits on the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law task force advising the governor and Legislature on what should be done to prevent another condo collapse.
“They’re the ocean liner among [homeowner association] and condo attorneys. They’re not the little tugboat,” said attorney Fred O’Neal, an attorney in Windermere in central Florida who represents homeowners against associations. “In Tallahassee, the Legislature obviously bends to the will of the best organized, loudest voices.”
Prompted by the firm, retirees have asked legislators for mercy from new laws that might increase condo fees, like a requirement to add fire sprinklers. Former legislators said condo residents didn’t necessarily know what the legislation was about — just that it might cost them something.
Yet the Becker lobbying arm founded by Berger — the Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL) — fought reforms aimed at making reserve funding mandatory, former state Sen. Steve Geller said.
“Becker & Poliakoff opposed it. They organized their condos against it,” said Geller, now Broward County mayor. “Probably because that’s what their condos wanted them to do. … They were not the only one, but Becker was the biggest.”
When the Legislature thought it was a good idea for condos to install fire sprinklers, Becker sought to neuter the law. It passed 21 years ago, but thanks in part to Becker, the law still doesn’t apply to older condos like the ones lining South Florida’s coast.
Becker unleashed a torrent of opposition.
Former Rep. Robaina wrung his hands in late June, when the Champlain collapsed in Surfside, wondering if his failed proposals would have saved 98 lives.
He told the Sun Sentinel that Becker’s firm stymied his efforts to pass a bill requiring coastal condo safety certifications every 10 years. Currently Broward and Miami-Dade counties require inspections 40 years after construction, and every 10 years thereafter.
“That bill never even moved, there was no support from the House, and it wasn’t just Becker & Poliakoff, but other law firms, saying there was an undue burden financially on the associations,” Robaina said.
Pete Dunbar, an influential longtime lobbyist for the Florida Bar and an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law, said the Becker firm is by no means alone in advancing condo issues, but is a respected member of the condo “gaggle’' in the state Capitol.
“My experience is they have always been a respected voice in this dialogue. I don’t know that anybody is overriding in their influence,” he said. “It takes reaching consensus among those respected voices.”
When Robaina in 2008 proposed that condos be inspected every five years so that reserve funds could be properly estimated, Becker took credit for nullifying the law.
Becker’s main condo lobbyist at the time, Yeline Goin, got the bill amended so that condos could opt out, the Sun Sentinel reported at the time.
The entire requirement was repealed two years later.
“That was done by the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff, I’m sure, because they were the ones that lobbied against everything I ever did,” Robaina told the Sun Sentinel recently.
Robaina suspects the firm will be active in the legislative scramble triggered by the Surfside collapse.
More at (see https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-surfside-collapse-condo-becker-20210928-oa5xaboljrfcxaptqslzujfita-story.html):
From the OP's linked article:
Many may wonder why this a big deal, especially if they believe their association is maintained properly. While that may be the case, the new guidelines now require lenders to obtain written answers to questions concerning building safety, soundness, structural integrity, and habitability, which were never part of previous lender questionnaires. Most of these questions cannot be answered by the association since the board and its manager are simply not qualified to give such an opinion, meaning they lack the requisite legal and engineering expertise.
And you, Becker law firm, are opposed to anything that might make condos safer. The battle to change the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac questionnaire will earn Becker millions, or tens of millions, of dollars. With 4000 Florida condo clients, at say $10,000 of legal fees a year, Becker makes $40,000,000 per year from the Florida condo community. Stir up sh-t. Promote conflict. Make more money.