Tallahassee Democrat by Jeffrey Schweers
November 20, 2017
It’s been months since Anthony Dewees and Lynda Tiefel asked to see the financial records of their condominium association over concerns about maintenance issues, bills being paid late and the association’s reserves being depleted.
Their attempts to obtain the financial records they’re entitled to under state law have been ignored, they say, prompting them to sue the Adams Street Lofts Condominium Association run by Paige Carter-Smith and City Commissioner Scott Maddox, and the management company they hired, Lewis Association Property Management.
Carter-Smith and Maddox are longtime friends and political and business associates who are named in federal subpoenas delivered to City Hall over the last five months as part of a probe into the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
In a complaint filed in Leon County Circuit Court two weeks ago, Dewees and Tiefel claim that the association refused to let them inspect and photocopy the association’s financial records. They’re demanding records going back seven years, including invoices, itemized receipts, statements of account for each unit owner, audits, reviews and accounting statements, and contracts and bids for work.
They’re also seeking damages because the association failed to provide the requested records within 10 days of their request as outlined in Florida statutes. As unit owners in the building, Dewees and Tiefel are entitled to seek actual or minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days beginning on the 11th day after request was received, as well as attorney fees.
In a previous report, Carter-Smith said the two are disgruntled property owners who bought their units when prices were high before the real estate bubble burst. She’s also said they are politically motivated friends of city critic Erwin Jackson, a student housing developer who has filed ethics complaints and lawsuits against Maddox. [READ MORE]
