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Welcome to 1905 -- Bakers' Right to Contract Protected!

This is an old-fashioned Lochner-era beatdown:

No matter how beautiful a condominium complex looks in the brochure, it might behoove any buyer to look at the fine print in the contract based on a ruling by a federal judge.

The brochure showed a 56-story elliptical-shaped building on the water with a nearby marina. The illustration omitted surrounding high-rise buildings. The one- and two-bedroom units were priced from $200,000 to $800,000.

?It is well settled that a contracting party may not as matter of law reasonably rely upon prior written or oral misrepresentations expressly contradicted by a subsequent written agreement,? Seitz wrote in her 10-page order.

The decision is a victory for developer Tibor Hollo and may influence hundreds of similar lawsuits against other condominium builders. Most of the lawsuits aim to recover condo unit deposits under the federal Interstate Land Sales Act and the Florida False Advertising Statute.

Both laws were passed to fight fraudulent Florida swampland sales to out-of-state buyers.

Listen, our South Florida history is precious and we should all work to protect it. Who knew that includes our inglorious past bilking out-of-towners on dubious South Florida land sales? You can read the Court's order here.

It is really quite stunning the apparent view expressed here of how consumers act or make purchasing decisions in the real world. For example, although the promotional brochure used to sell the units touted an "Olympic-sized" swimming pool, the actual contract document specified a pool of exactly 2530 feet.

Also, although the brochure talked about wide vistas and panoramic views, the actual contract language says that buyers are not guaranteed any view whatsoever. Plus, although the brochure has the condo pictured immediately adjacent to the bay with a marina, the actual legal description is of a property one block away from the water. What suckers these buyers are!

Of course when 35 percent of the American public believes that Saddam was behind 9/11 and that Obama is a secret madrassa Muslim, it is perfectly reasonable for these chumps to see somewhere in their contract that 2530 feet is pretty small for a pool or that by pulling out a legal plat description it is quite obvious that their condo unit isn't anywhere near the water and has a beautiful view not of Biscayne Bay, but of Camillus House.

You'd have to be a moron to miss that.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).