Title of the eCLE: That's Not What You Said! The Law of Estoppel in Real Estate Transactions
The speakers’ names and cities:
Brenda Ezell – Jacksonville
Salome Zikakis – Ft. Lauderdale
Shawn Brown – St. Petersburg
Amy Petrick – West Palm Beach
Scott Dibbs – Tampa
The title of each presentation; The specific time duration for each presentation, e.g. 11:00 am-1:00pm
and The order of speakers/topics:
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2.
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6.
Intro to Estoppel – B. Ezell (10 minutes)
Tenant Estoppel Letters – S. Dibbs (20 minutes)
Lender Estoppel Letters – S. Zikakis (20 minutes)
Condo/HOA Estoppel Letters – S. Brown (20 minutes)
Government Estoppel – A. Petrick (20 minutes)
Q&A/Wrap up – All (10 minutes)
Speaker biographies (long enough to show the Bar they are capable):
BRENDA EZELL is founding partner and shareholder of Ezell Law Firm in Jacksonville, Florida. She has
significant experience as counsel to buyers and sellers, developers, lenders, borrowers, and agencies at
all levels of government in various types of commercial real estate transactions including purchase and
sale, leasing, lending and title insurance as well as regulatory matters, land development, easements
and servitudes, and covenants and restrictions. She is currently serving as Co-Vice Chair of the Landlord
Tenant Committee of the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. Ms. Ezell graduated
summa cum laude from Jacksonville University and earned her J.D. with honors from the University of
Florida. Prior to establishing Ezell Law Firm in 2009, Ms. Ezell practiced at Rogers Towers and Edwards
Cohen, two of Northeast Florida’s most respected law firms. She also served as an Assistant General
Counsel to the City of Jacksonville, gaining broad experience in land use, zoning, and regulatory matters
and representing numerous government agencies.
SCOTT W. DIBBS is a shareholder in the Tampa law firm of Hill Ward Henderson. Mr. Dibbs is a member
of the firm's Real Estate and Corporate Groups and leads the firm's Commercial Leasing Group. He has
extensive experience representing national and regional landlords and tenants in a wide range of office,
industrial, retail, and mixed-use lease transactions. He is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Leasing
Group of the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law and is a frequent speaker and author on
various commercial leasing topics. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and his
J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. He is AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer
Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
SALOMÉ J. ZIKAKIS is a Board Certified Real Estate Attorney and a shareholder with Parady & Zikakis,
P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She specializes in commercial real estate transactions, representing
institutional and private lenders, owners and borrowers in various lending, acquisition and leasing
matters. Ms. Zikakis also efficiently and effectively represents the firm’s clients involved in residential
acquisitions, lending and sales. Ms. Zikakis was born and raised in Delaware and graduated from the
University of Delaware with a B.S. in accounting. She earned her Juris Doctorate with honors from the
University of Florida in 1985. Ms. Zikakis is the chair of the Residential Real Estate and Industry Liaison
Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (RPPTL) of the Florida Bar, a past Chair
(2009-2012) of the Mortgages and Other Encumbrances Committee of RPPTL, a member of the
Executive Council of RPPTL, as well as an active member of several other RPPTL committees. She is peer
rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell.
SHAWN G. BROWN is a partner in the St. Petersburg firm of Lang & Brown, P.A., where his focus is on
the practice of community association law and real estate law. Mr. Brown is a graduate of Stetson
University (1995) and Stetson University College of Law (2002). While at Stetson University, Mr. Brown
served as an intern to United States Senator Connie Mack in his Washington D.C. office while attending
American University. He is a member of both the Real Property Litigation Committee and Condominium
& Planned Development Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida
Bar. Mr. Brown is the chair of the Condominium & Planned Development Committee’s Safe Harbor and
Estoppel Subcommittee and the chair of the Real Property Litigation Committee’s Judicial Litigation
Support and Education Subcommittee.
AMY PETRICK is a Senior Assistant County Attorney in the Palm Beach County Attorney’s Office. As a
member of the Litigation Division, Ms. Petrick represents the County in state and federal court on a
broad range of land use and environmental matters, including inverse condemnation claims, zoning
challenges, first amendment and religious land use disputes, regulatory civil rights cases, and
administrative challenges. Additionally, Ms. Petrick serves as a member of the County’s Appellate Team,
handling appeals of administrative, state, and federal decisions.
Ms. Petrick has served as an Adjunct Graduate Professor at Florida Atlantic University, teaching
Administrative Law to candidates in the Masters of Public Administration Program. Prior to her tenure
with Palm Beach County, Ms. Petrick served as clerk at the Fourth District Court of Appeal for the
Honorable Robert. M. Gross. Ms. Petrick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with
honors from the University of Florida in 1994, and a Juris Doctor with high honors from the University of
Florida in 2000.
Summaries of each presentation (2-3 sentences)
Ms. Ezell will provide a brief overview of the law of estoppel generally and how what we call
transactional estoppel letters are used in commercial real
Mr. Dibbs will provide a detailed discussion of tenant estoppel letters. He will discuss case law relating
to tenant estoppel letters and will also discuss the form and content of tenant estoppel letters as well as
lender, tenant and landlord concerns regarding the content of tenant estoppel letters.
Ms. Zikakis will provide a detailed discussion of lender estoppel letters (aka payoff letters). She will
discuss the statutory framework, including any proposed legislative amendments, as well as a case law
discussion as it applies to lender estoppel letters and will also discuss the form and content of lender
estoppel letters.
Mr. Brown will provide a detailed discussion of condominium and homeowner association unit owner
estoppel letters. He will discuss the statutory framework, including any proposed legislative
amendments, as well as a case law discussion on condo and HOA estoppel letters and will also discuss
the form and content of condo and HOA estoppel letters, including management company charges.
Ms. Petrick will provide a detailed discussion of government estoppel. Her discussion will include
existing statutory framework, including any proposed legislative amendments, as well as current case
law discussion on zoning estoppel and sovereign immunity.