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WHEN
ARE COMMERCIAL TRUCKS “COMMERCIAL”?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
July 12, 2013
One
could fill pages about all the law suits that have been filed
over “pick-up trucks” and where and if they can be parked in
community associations. It seems to be a never-ending dispute.
Before
starting to argue about pick-up trucks being commercial trucks,
just make sure you understand that the chassis of a pick-up
truck is more or less the same as that of an SUV – they just
look different. Does that make an SUV a truck? And, make no
mistake, nowadays many folks don’t buy pick-ups for commercial
purposes – they just feel that a pick-up truck is fun driving
-- or pulling their boat!
The
most important court ruling about parking of pick-up trucks and
association rules is in my opinion the court case of Eagles
Master Association, Inc. v. Vizzi in 2008, later affirmed by
the Second District Court of Appeals in 2010.
[
http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/CourtFlEaglesMasterCCSummJudgm.pdf
]
The
issue: What commercial truck can really be considered “commercial”?
You
know the old saying: “What looks like a duck, walks like a
duck, quacks like a duck – is a duck!” It
seems that doesn’t always work with pick-up trucks – because
nowadays many folks are using pick-up trucks for daily
transportation, not just for commercial purposes.
And
even the fact that a truck (or in this case a Hummer) displays
advertising for a company doesn’t mean a court will consider
it a commercial vehicle. Paul Wean, specialized association
attorney from Orlando, and Susan Carpenter, a
well-known CAM and the registered agent for the
association at the time when the lawsuit was filed, cheered on
the board of the Turtle Creek Homeowners' Association in
Orlando, a community they both resided in, when the board
decided to go after the owner of a Hummer, who parked his
vehicle in his driveway. The board sued, claiming that it is a
commercial vehicle, violating the association’s
deed-restrictions, because it clearly displayed advertising --
"Tireflys lights for your wheels" was
written on the sides of the vehicle.
[
See: http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLTurtleCreeklawsuit.html
]
I
guess these folks were surprised to see this lawsuit going “up
in flames” – ending in a crushing defeat for the association
in court -- to the tune of $57,111.50 -- not counting the
association’s own legal fees.
That
clearly leaves the question: When is a commercial truck really
commercial? It seems judges have different opinions about the
interpretation of the words “commercial vehicles” than some
board members and their attorneys. The word
"REASONABLE" plays a big role in these
interpretations.
That
leaves the most important question: Is it really worth going
after these “violators” – even if the truck (or Hummer) in
question is a perfectly good-looking vehicle that often just
doesn’t fit in the garage?
And
I guess that is especially the question asked by the owners in
the Eagles Master Association in
Tampa
, whose board spent an estimated $380,000 of
association funds in legal fees, just to prevent an owner from
parking his pick-up truck in the driveway. The board’s attempt
to prevent Vizzi from parking his Ford F-350 in his driveway
ended in a crushing – and very expensive – defeat in two
courts.
[
http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLPickUpLegalFees.html
]
Was
it really worth spending this kind of money to find out when a
“commercial truck”
is not really commercial and can't be parked in the driveway?
Does anyone honestly believes that a good-looking pick-up truck
parked in a driveway seriously reduces the property values of
the homes and parcels in this community?
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