Judge Rules in Favor of Tamarac’s Shaky Shaker Village Clubhouse Deal

[caption id="attachment_44562" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The Shaker Village clubhouse. {Google Maps}[/caption]

A hurdle blocking Tamarac’s controversial plan to buy the dilapidated Shaker Village Clubhouse was recently cleared when a Broward Circuit Court judge ruled in the condominium association’s favor in a lawsuit.

The lawsuit,  filed in September 2023 by Shaker Village resident Tonya Nesbitt, had challenged the Shaker Village Condominium Association’s authority to make the clubhouse sale. Nesbitt, who sought to halt the deal until Association members properly authorized a contract, claimed Shaker Village was “stripping members of the Association of their ownership rights in Association property.”

Judge John Bowman ruled for the Association in his April 29 decision, writing that a December 15, 2023 vote by the Association’s members resulted in a tally of 277 in favor and three against selling the property—well above the required legal threshold of 75 percent.

Bowman rejected Nesbitt’s arguments, including her claims that the Association vote was improperly conducted and that the clubhouse sale was invalid because a vote was not taken before the Association entered into the contract.

"Under any analysis, the sale of the property by the Association is duly authorized," Bowman wrote.

It was unclear how Tamarac officials planned to proceed with the clubhouse deal.

Tamarac City Attorney Hans Ottinot said on Wednesday, “The plaintiff has time to appeal, and so we’ll just wait and see.” He did not believe an appeal had yet been filed.

The litigation has impeded the city’s contractual closing on the clubhouse property for months. Tamarac Mayor Michelle Gomez has said there are title issues at Shaker Village that would likely slow down or hinder the city’s purchase of the clubhouse even without the lawsuit.

Shaker Village is a community of over 350 townhomes built in the early 1970s. Association members have said the community is drowning in debt due to mismanagement by previous boards. Severe drainage problems and roofing issues plague the community.

The city has said it plans to build a community center on the clubhouse property to better serve Eastside residents.

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