Silver Beach Condo Owners Win Against Developer in Court

By Fraser Sherman, Destin Log, Fla.

Jun. 4–A local court says developer Tom Becnel changed the covenants for Silver Beach Towers condominiums to deny owners their rights to the beach there.

In a March 10 order, Circuit Judge Terrance Ketchel directed Becnel to convey title to the beach to the association, and to replace the revised covenants with the original ones.

Becnel told The Log that the covenants had always made it clear the owners wouldn’t control the beach. He said his attorneys have already filed an appeal.

As detailed in Ketchel’s final order, the Silver Beach condo owners say that the Silver Beach prospectus and the original covenants identified the beach as part of the association’s common properties. Ketchel ruled that prior to the owners closing on their units, Becnel amended the covenants to remove the beach from association control without telling the owners.

“The documents, except for one exhibit prepared by a civil engineer, are clear that the beach was never included,” Becnel said. “It spells out what was common areas in great specificity. When we corrected the error made by Choctaw engineering, the owners used that as a way to slip in and claim something that was never theirs to begin with.”

Becnel said Ketchel had been newly assigned to the case and dispensed “popular justice.”

Simon Bloom, the attorney for the condo association, told The Log that by retaining control of the beach, Becnel had control of the umbrella/deck chair concessions. Bloom said that every condo rental paid a fee for the beach service, whether or not the renters used it.

“This is the first of a string of apparent abuses that we have witnessed,” Bloom said. “There are a number of technicalities buried in the condominium documents that allowed the developer to reserve immense amounts of power.”

Bloom’s allegations were not mentioned in Ketchel’s order. Becnel denied that control of the concessions was an issue.

“That is a bald-faced lie and he knows it,” Becnel said.

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