Whitehall at Bal Harbour v. Raviv: A Condo Association Waived Its Objection to a Partial Fee Judgment

Attorney’s fees often become the largest number in a condominium dispute, and a January 21, 2026, decision from Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal shows how procedural choices can lock in a fee award before the rest of the case is resolved. In Whitehall at Bal Harbour Condominium Association, Inc. v. Raviv, the court affirmed a judgment awarding fees and costs to a unit owner on one count while other counts remained pending, holding that the association waived its timing objection by raising it for the first time on rehearing ¹.

What happened

Unit owner Yaffa Raviv sued the Whitehall association in September 2018 and amended her complaint in April 2021, alleging negligence, seeking injunctive relief and alleging breach of contract ¹. The parties entered an agreed order naming Raviv the prevailing party on the injunctive relief count, with the negligence and contract counts left for later ¹. They then entered a second agreed order granting Raviv entitlement to fees and costs on that count and reserving the amount for an evidentiary hearing ¹.

Raviv’s motion asked the court to enter a judgment in her favor for $214,950 in attorney’s fees and $27,909.67 in costs, plus post-judgment interest ¹. The association objected only to some of the costs and to the amount of fees, not to entry of a judgment ¹. The trial court held a five-hour evidentiary hearing, the parties stipulated to taxable costs, and the court entered a final judgment for fees and costs on August 30, 2024 ¹.

Ten days later, the association moved for rehearing and to vacate, arguing for the first time that a fee order should be entered only at the end of the case, after all counts are resolved ¹. The trial court declined to consider the new argument ¹.

The Third District’s reasoning

The appellate court reviewed the award for abuse of discretion and found none ¹. Judge Fernandez’s opinion made three points:

• Waiver by acquiescence. Agreeing to prevailing party status and fee entitlement is not necessarily an agreement to entry of a final fee judgment. But the association fully participated in the fee proceedings, including the five-hour hearing and negotiations over the amount, without a procedural objection, and so waived it ¹.
• No new arguments on rehearing. A trial court does not abuse its discretion by refusing to consider an argument on rehearing that could have been raised earlier, and the association knew Raviv was asking for a judgment ¹.
• Voidable, not void. Because the claimed defect was procedural, the judgment would at most have been voidable. A judgment is void only for lack of subject matter or personal jurisdiction or a denial of notice and an opportunity to be heard ¹.

Why this matters at the mediation table

The decision is short, but its practical lesson is familiar to anyone who has negotiated a condominium case. Fees on a single count, here more than $214,000 requested, can exceed the value of the underlying dispute ¹. Once entitlement is conceded and an amount is fixed, the leverage in the remaining counts changes.

Several takeaways for association counsel, boards and owners’ counsel:

• Agreed orders carry weight. Stipulating to prevailing party status or entitlement can be efficient, but each stipulation should say plainly whether and when a judgment may enter.
• Raise timing objections early. The association’s argument might have been heard if made before the evidentiary hearing ¹.
• Evaluate fees together with the merits. A global resolution can address fees on resolved counts alongside the open counts, rather than litigating them in stages.

The Legislature was also weighing how community association disputes reach court. A House staff analysis released January 22, 2026, described HB 657, which would create community association court programs in the circuit courts with authority to award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs ². The same analysis explains that current law requires presuit mediation for many homeowners’ association disputes, and that a party who refuses to participate in mediation is barred from recovering fees and costs in later litigation on the dispute ². Whatever the forum, fees remain a central settlement variable.

Tony Roca, a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator, mediates condominium and HOA disputes, including presuit mediation under section 720.311, Florida Statutes. Counsel and associations can check his live availability and book a mediation by Zoom statewide.