Icon Brickell Condo Association Settles $762,500 Case
Aaron Resnick, a Miami condominium litigation attorney with the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, served as co-lead class counsel for renters and buyers at Icon Brickell Tower 1 in Miami, in a case settled in 2020.
$762,500Settlement, 2020 | $60 to $360Recovery per class member | $600What one renter paid in fees | 685Units in the tower |
The Real Deal, April 28, 2020
Icon Brickell condo association settles class action suit alleging it charged illegal fees
What Happened at Icon Brickell
Icon Brickell Tower 1 stands at 465 Brickell Avenue in Miami, a 685 unit tower built by the Related Group in 2008.
To rent there, Brittany Wiggins paid $500 in move-in and move-out fees and a $100 application fee, according to her complaint as reported by The Real Deal. None of the $600 was refundable.
At the time, chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes capped what a condominium association could charge on the sale or lease of a unit at $100 per applicant. The case was about the difference.
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Why It Took a Class Action
A $600 overcharge is too small to take to court alone. The cost of a lawyer outruns the claim, so the charge goes unchallenged, building after building, year after year.
"These illegal fees are a profit center for the condominium associations that charge them."
Attorneys Aaron Resnick and Jordan Shaw, in a joint statement reported by The Real Deal
A class action changes that arithmetic. Once a court certifies the class, one renter can stand for everyone the association charged. The fight is over certification, and the association contested the case for two years before the court certified the class in 2019.
What Attorney Aaron Resnick Did
Aaron Resnick filed the case for Wiggins in 2017 with attorney Jordan Shaw.
It was part of a statewide campaign over condominium transfer and application fees that the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick announced in November 2016, with parallel class actions involving Quantum on the Bay, the Plaza on Brickell and SLS Lux.
In 2019 the court certified the class: everyone who rented or bought a unit in Tower 1 after June 27, 2013.
2016 Statewide fee campaign announced
2017 Class action filed for Brittany Wiggins
2019 Court certifies the class
2020 Association settles for $762,500
The Settlement
The Icon Brickell association settled for $762,500 in 2020. Each class member was eligible to recover $60 to $360, representing 60 percent of the move fees paid.
It was the second case in the campaign to resolve. In September 2019 the Plaza 851 Brickell Condominium Association agreed to pay up to $300,000 to settle a parallel class action, and 588 people were eligible, the Miami Herald reported.
Two buildings, two settlements: $762,500 at Icon Brickell, and up to $300,000 at Plaza 851.
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Case Facts
| Matter type | Consumer class action over 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 |
| Class counsel | Aaron Resnick, co-lead class counsel with attorney Jordan Shaw |
| Result | $762,500 settlement, 2020 |
| Recovery per class member | $60 to $360, equal to 60 percent of move fees paid |
Questions About the Icon Brickell Settlement
What Was the Icon Brickell Class Action About?
The case challenged the move fees the Icon Brickell Tower 1 condominium association charged.
Named plaintiff Brittany Wiggins paid $500 in move-in and move-out fees and a $100 application fee, none of it refundable. Aaron Resnick filed the class action in 2017 for a class of renters and buyers charged these fees.
How Much Was the Icon Brickell Settlement?
The Icon Brickell Condominium No. 1 Association settled the class action for $762,500 in 2020, as The Real Deal reported on April 28, 2020.
Class members were eligible to recover $60 to $360 each, representing 60 percent of the move fees paid. Aaron Resnick served as co-lead class counsel with Jordan Shaw.
Who Was in the Icon Brickell Class?
The class covered everyone who rented or bought a unit at Icon Brickell Tower 1 after June 27, 2013.
The court certified the class in 2019, two years after Aaron Resnick filed the case in Miami Dade Circuit Court. The settlement followed in 2020.
A New Dispute Over Condominium Fees
If an association has charged you to apply for, buy or lease a unit, keep the invoice, the payment record and the governing documents.
The Ask Aaron answer on condo association fees explains what to have ready, and the firm's condominium law services page covers its wider condo practice. Send the parties, the problem and the next date; the firm reviews every inquiry and tells you whether it can help.
Related Pages
- Condominium Law Services
- Condominium Transfer and Application Fee Class Actions
- Representative Matters
- Condominium Record
- Aaron Resnick's biography
We Don't Make Promises. We Have Results to Prove It.
The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents condominium associations, boards, managers, developers and unit owners in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in condominium governance, assessments, records, inspections and disputes.
Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
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In the News
Icon Brickell condo association settles class action suit alleging it charged illegal fees
The Real Deal | April 28, 2020
The Real Deal reported that the Icon Brickell Tower 1 association agreed to a $762,500 settlement of the class action over its move-in, move-out and application fees. Attorneys Aaron Resnick and Jordan Shaw were co-lead class counsel. The story quotes their joint statement calling the fees a profit center.Condo boards ‘fatten coffers’ with illegal fees. Residents just won a class-action settlement
Miami Herald | September 17, 2019
The Miami Herald reported that the Plaza 851 Brickell Condominium Association agreed to pay up to $300,000 to settle a parallel class action, and that 588 people were eligible. Aaron Resnick, who represented the plaintiffs, said associations charged these fees to fatten their coffers. The case was part of the same statewide fee campaign.Illegal Condo Fee Lawsuits May Offer Relief for Renters
South Florida Reporter | November 30, 2016
The South Florida Reporter described class actions filed across Florida against condominium associations that charge transfer fees above the $100 per applicant cap in chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes. It named Aaron Resnick as one of the lead attorneys handling the class actions, with co-counsel Joshua Spector and Jonathan Feldman.Lawsuit alleges illegal condo fees at Quantum on the Bay
The Real Deal | November 22, 2016
The Real Deal reported that a Quantum on the Bay resident sued the building's condominium association over $625 in fees charged when he signed a lease at the Edgewater towers. Aaron Resnick said his team had found overcharging associations from Tallahassee to Tampa, and that Miami was the most prevalent.Condo rip-off: Tenant sues association over high fees
Miami Herald | November 21, 2016
The Miami Herald reported that a Quantum on the Bay tenant sued the building's condominium association in Miami Dade Circuit Court over $625 in application and move-in fees, against a state cap of $100 per person. Aaron Resnick said more class actions would follow, working with attorneys Joshua Spector and Jonathan Feldman.
