What began as a dispute over a $358.56 HOA assessment ended up in the Fourth District Court of Appeal over attorney’s fees.
In Villages of Palm Beach Lakes Property Owners’ Association, Inc. v. Shoyfer, Case No. 4D2025-3413 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 23, 2026), the court held that the owner’s payment of the assessment and virtually all accrued interest after the lawsuit was filed did not end the HOA’s claim for attorney’s fees.
For owners, the important lesson is broader than this particular assessment: once an HOA collection matter reaches attorneys or litigation, paying the original assessment may not necessarily resolve the entire account.
What Happened
The HOA claimed that the owner had not paid the 2025 annual assessment. Before the lawsuit was filed, the owner offered to pay the assessment, but the offer did not include the attorney’s fees the association claimed it had already incurred trying to collect it.
After the HOA filed suit, the owner paid the assessment and virtually all of the accrued interest. The association then voluntarily dismissed the underlying lawsuit but continued seeking its attorney’s fees.
The county court denied the HOA’s request for fees. It concluded, in substance, that the lawsuit had not been necessary because the owner had been willing to pay the assessment.
The HOA appealed, and the Fourth DCA reversed.
Why Paying the Assessment Did Not End the Fee Claim
The appellate court relied on Florida’s HOA assessment-collection statute. Under section 720.3085(3)(b), Florida Statutes (2025), an accepted payment on a delinquent HOA account is applied in a specific order. Collection costs and reasonable attorney’s fees can be applied before the delinquent assessment itself.
That mattered because the owner’s pre-suit offer covered the assessment but did not include the attorney’s fees the association claimed were already part of the collection matter. The Fourth DCA therefore concluded that the HOA did not have to treat the offer as full resolution of the account.
The court also held that the association could continue pursuing prevailing-party attorney’s fees even though the owner later paid the assessment and the HOA dismissed the lawsuit.
The Case Does Not Mean Every Attorney’s Fee Is Automatically Owed
The Fourth DCA decided that the HOA was entitled to pursue prevailing-party attorney’s fees in this case. It did not simply approve whatever amount the association requested.
The case was sent back to the county court for an evidentiary hearing to determine a reasonable fee amount. Other statutory requirements governing HOA collection efforts, including required notices, also remain relevant in appropriate cases.
That distinction is important. An owner should not assume that every charge appearing on an HOA ledger is valid merely because it is labeled “attorney’s fees.” But an owner also should not assume that paying only the original assessment will make attorney’s fees already incurred disappear.
Why the Economics of the Dispute Matter
Shoyfer is a useful example because the original assessment was only $358.56. Once attorneys and litigation became involved, the financial stakes were no longer limited to that amount.
Attorney’s fees, court costs, and an owner’s own legal expenses can quickly exceed the amount that started the dispute. That does not determine whether the HOA is legally correct, and an owner may have legitimate defenses. But the potential cost of the dispute is something an owner should evaluate early rather than looking only at the original balance.
What an Owner Should Take Away From Shoyfer
If an HOA says an assessment account has been referred for collection, do not assume the assessment shown on the original notice is necessarily the entire amount at issue.
- Get a current ledger or payoff figure. Determine what the association says is owed for the assessment, interest, late charges, collection costs, and attorney’s fees.
- Keep the collection notices and payment communications. What was demanded, offered, paid, and accepted can matter later.
- Do not assume paying the assessment alone closes the matter. Once collection costs or attorney’s fees have accrued, the account may involve more than the original assessment.
- Evaluate the economics early. The amount in dispute and the potential cost of continuing the dispute are different questions from whether the association’s position is legally valid.
Relevant account records may also be available through an official records request.
The Owner-Side Takeaway
The central lesson from Shoyfer is simple: an HOA collection dispute can become much larger than the assessment that started it. Once attorney’s fees have entered the picture, an owner should understand the entire claimed balance and the effect of any proposed payment before assuming that paying the assessment will end the dispute.
The legal merits still matter. So do the practical costs of pursuing them.
Current Status
The Fourth DCA issued its opinion on September 23, 2026 and remanded the case for determination of the reasonable attorney’s fee amount. The opinion states that it is not final until disposition of any timely filed motion for rehearing.
The decision also relies in part on the Fourth DCA’s prevailing-party analysis in Mooney v. Color Le Palais of Boynton Beach Homeowners Association. As of October 1, 2026, the Florida Supreme Court has granted review of Mooney, so that issue should be rechecked when relying on the case in the future.
Sources reviewed: October 1, 2026.