Icon Brickell Condo Fee Class Action Settlement

The condominium association for Icon Brickell Tower 1 settled a class action over transfer and application fees for $762,500 in 2020, as reported by The Real Deal on April 28, 2020. Everyone who rented or bought a unit in the tower after June 27, 2013 was eligible to recover between $60 and $360, representing 60 percent of the move fees they had paid. Aaron Resnick served as co-lead class counsel with Jordan Shaw of Zebersky Payne Shaw Lewenz.

Case facts

Matter type	Consumer class action, condominium transfer and application fees
Court	Miami-Dade County Circuit Court
Case years	2017 to 2020
Named plaintiff	Brittany Wiggins
Defendant	Icon Brickell Condominium No. 1 Association
Class period	Rentals and purchases at Tower 1 from June 27, 2013 forward
Firm role	Co-lead class counsel, Aaron Resnick with co-counsel Jordan Shaw
Result	$762,500 settlement, 2020
Per member recovery	$60 to $360, equal to 60 percent of move fees paid

The situation

Icon Brickell Tower 1 sits at 465 Brickell Avenue, a 685 unit tower the coverage described as built by the Related Group in 2008. Like many Miami buildings, its association charged people money to move in. According to the complaint as reported by The Real Deal, the named plaintiff, Brittany Wiggins, paid $500 in move-in and move-out fees on top of a $100 application fee, and the entire $600 was non-refundable. Florida's Condominium Act, chapter 718, Florida Statutes, caps what an association may collect in connection with the sale or lease of a unit at $100 per applicant, with a married couple treated as one applicant. The gap between what the statute allows and what the building collected is the whole case.

What made it hard

Nobody litigates over $600. That is the arithmetic these fees depend on: the individual loss is too small to justify a lawyer, so the charges go unchallenged, building after building, year after year. In a joint statement reported by The Real Deal, Resnick and Shaw put it plainly: "These illegal fees are a profit center for the condominium associations that charge them." The only procedural tool that changes the arithmetic is the class action, and the fight that decides a class action is certification. The association contested the case for two years before the court certified the class in 2019.

What Aaron did

Aaron filed for Wiggins in 2017 as part of a statewide campaign the firm announced in November 2016 to recover improper transfer and application fees, with parallel class actions involving Quantum on the Bay, the Plaza on Brickell, and SLS Lux. He won class certification in 2019, converting one renter's $600 into a claim on behalf of everyone the tower had charged since June 27, 2013. The settlement negotiated with co-counsel returned 60 percent of the move fees class members had paid, and the matter resolved in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in 2020.

The result

A $762,500 settlement, with each class member eligible for $60 to $360. It was the second resolved case in the campaign: in September 2019, the Plaza 851 Brickell Condominium Association settled a parallel class action for $300,000 covering 588 class members, as the Miami Herald reported. Two buildings, more than a million dollars returned to renters and owners, and a documented price for a fee practice that had gone unchallenged.

If a Miami association charged you these fees

The fee caps in chapter 718 apply to condominium associations across Florida, and the coverage of this campaign noted associations charging above the cap from Tallahassee to Jacksonville. If an association charged you more than $100 to apply for or transfer a unit, the Icon Brickell and Plaza 851 settlements show what the recovery path looks like. Speak to Aaron

Frequently asked questions

What was the Icon Brickell class action about?

Renters and buyers at Icon Brickell Tower 1 were charged $500 in move-in and move-out fees plus a $100 application fee. Florida's Condominium Act, chapter 718, caps such charges at $100 per applicant. The lawsuit sought those overcharges back for everyone who paid them.

How much was the Icon Brickell settlement?

The association settled for $762,500 in 2020. Class members were eligible for $60 to $360 each, representing 60 percent of the move-in and move-out fees they had paid, as reported by The Real Deal.

Who was in the Icon Brickell class?

Anyone who rented or purchased a unit at Icon Brickell Tower 1 after June 27, 2013 fell within the settlement class.

Source record

1. The Real Deal, April 28, 2020. Icon Brickell condo association settles class action suit alleging it charged illegal fees. Independent journalism. https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/04/28/icon-brickell-condo-association-settles-class-action-suit-alleging-it-charged-illegal-fees/
2. Miami Herald, September 17, 2019. Condo boards fatten coffers with illegal fees. Independent journalism, Plaza 851 settlement and campaign context. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article234887852.html
3. Miami Herald, November 21, 2016. Condo rip-off: tenant sues association over high fees. Independent journalism. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article116240108.html
4. The Real Deal, November 22, 2016. Lawsuit alleges illegal condo fees at Quantum on the Bay. Independent journalism, campaign context. https://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/11/22/class-action-lawsuit-alleges-illegal-condo-fees-at-quantum-on-the-bay/
5. South Florida Reporter, November 30, 2016. Illegal condo fee lawsuits may offer relief for renters. Independent journalism. https://southfloridareporter.com/illegal-condo-fee-lawsuits-may-offer-relief-renters/
6. PR Newswire, November 23, 2016. Firm-issued release announcing the statewide filings. Firm-issued. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-following-press-release-is-issued-by-the-law-offices-of-aaron-resnick-pa-class-action-lawsuits-being-filed-statewide-to-recover-improper-transferapplication-fees-in-condominium-rentals-and-purchases-300368057.html

Record verified August 12, 2026.

About Aaron Resnick

Aaron Resnick has practiced in Florida since 1998 and has been selected to Florida Super Lawyers from 2013 to 2026, fourteen consecutive years. He is a past president of the Miami Beach Bar Association. This matter is part of the firm's condominium transfer and application fee class actions record, documented with the rest of the firm's work at Representative Matters and The Record.

Related pages

Condominium Transfer and Application Fee Class Actions | Condominium Record | Real Estate Law

This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Every matter depends on its particular facts, documents, parties, law, and procedural posture.