A Third District Court judge has ruled against Ken Abdalla, the majority owner of the Sky Lodge, ordering him to pay a judgment of over $2.3 million and calling for a foreclosure sale of 30 fractional-share units owned by Abdalla and his affiliates.
Abdalla has been embroiled in legal conflicts with his fellow condo owners for years over the Sky Lodge, located on lower Main Street.
That led to the court setting up a receivership in October of 2019. And Abdalla hasn’t paid assessments since then, according to Troy Aramburu, representing the Union Square Owners Association.
At the recent hearing, held on Dec. 16, the issue was the receiver’s motion for summary judgment, calling for Abdalla and his business entities to pay two major assessments.
Aramburu said the assessments are for common expenses at the Lodge, including repairs and maintenance needed for the roof, building envelope, water system and other items.
The attorney for the Abdalla entities, John Snow, argued that they recognize funds are due. The issue, he said, is how much.
He said they admit owing an assessment of some $320,000. But the Abdalla interests own about 100 units at the Lodge, both commercial and residential. Snow contended that the commercial spaces are being unfairly assessed for residential expenses.
The attorney also said that Abdalla doesn’t have the funds on him currently, since he’s going through a divorce, and a receiver in that case is overseeing his marital assets.
In his ruling, Judge Kent Holmberg said that Abdalla might take issue with the assessments set by the Receiver, John Curtis, or object to the allocations set in Curtis’ 2020 budget for Sky Lodge. But the judge said those objections aren’t an excuse to avoid paying the assessments.
The judge also said Abdalla had not presented sufficient evidence for his claims, that he didn’t act on earlier chances to object and his concerns about spending decisions in the future are speculation.
A forensic accounting of Abdalla’s management of the Sky Lodge was presented to the court in November. Aramburu told the court they haven’t decided on a course of action regarding that information.
