Couple Sues to Lift Ban on Condo Door

A couple of condo dwellers have filed a lawsuit seeking court permission to use their own back door.

Property managers for the Bonaventure Condominium ordered Henrietta and Alfred Binns to stop entering and exiting through their patio door and threatened legal action in a July 13 letter, complaining that the Binns were wearing an unsightly path in the lawn with their frequent trips from the back door to the parking lot.

The condo’s management company, NCSC Housing Management Corp., told the Binns their walking pattern is “destroying the landscaping and is viewed as an eyesore by other owners in the building.”

The Binns filed a lawsuit seeking permission to use their door Aug. 8. They said the shortcut to the parking lot is more convenient than from the front door.

“It’s the only natural thing to do,” Henrietta Binns said.

Their lawyer, Benjie Sperling, said he would take depositions from every first-floor resident of the 39-unit building in the Bonaventure complex west of Ft. Lauderdale. He wants to show that others use their patio doors and don’t think it is a nuisance.

“I laugh about it, but it’s really not a laughing matter,” Sperling said. “You don’t give up all your rights when you buy a condo. Entering and exiting a door is about as basic as you can get.”

Sperling said he probably cannot rely on legal precedent to argue the case before Broward County Judge Geoffrey Cohen.

“I would doubt if there is any precedent on something like this because it’s so ridiculous,” he said.