Palm Beach Post-
David Silva didn’t believe he deserved the $25 late fee when his condo switched property managers and his $282 maintenance check for June 2015 wasn’t deposited. He still doesn’t.
He paid the maintenance bill when he found out that August it was overdue. But by this year, the late fee and the ones that came after it, which he wouldn’t pay, had metastasized into $50,000 of additional late fees, interest and attorney charges for a two-day trial. A county judge’s Feb. 5 ruling puts the retired New York state trooper in jeopardy of losing his $340,000 townhome to the Ventura Greens at Emerald Dunes Condominium Association through foreclosure, if he doesn’t pay in full.
“I am disappointed in the judge’s decision,” said Silva. “I believe that this case, looked at with another set of eyes, would have resulted in a different decision. It is a sad day in America when the American dream becomes the American nightmare….”
The association’s attorney, Jeannette Bellon, said Silva’s fate was sealed because he could not document he issued the check. The association even waived one month’s late fee but Silva refused to pay any, arguing that the entire matter arose because of a change in property managers, of which he was not aware. But he was notified multiple times, Bellon argued in court.
