Aventura waterfront homeowners do not have a right to an unobstructed view in every direction, a Florida appellate court ruled in a neighbor-versus-neighbor dispute over a dock on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a lower court's summary judgment in Kessler v. Ayzen, a case between two townhome owners in Aventura whose properties border the Intracoastal. The opinion, filed July 1, drew fresh attention after JD Supra published a legal analysis of the decision on Oct. 23.

Jack Kessler, who lives directly north of Alexander and Alla Ayzen, sued to block the Ayzens from building a marginal dock and boat lift behind their home. The proposed structure is about five feet wide and 21 feet long, with a 20,000-pound capacity boat lift. Kessler argued it would block 32 degrees of his peripheral view of the waterway to the south.

The court disagreed. Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge Gooden held that riparian rights entitle a waterfront owner only to a "direct, unobstructed view" of the water. They do not guarantee a clear sightline in all directions at the expense of a neighbor's rights.

The court found that the Ayzens' proposed dock, situated directly in front of their own property, did not injure Kessler's direct view of the water in front of his home.

The dispute stretches back to 2020, when the Ayzens applied for a Class I permit with the Miami-Dade Division of Environmental Resources Management. Despite Kessler's objections, the division recommended approval. The county's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did the same.

The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved the permit 11-0 after two public hearings. Kessler challenged that decision through the circuit court's appellate division and petitioned the Third District Court of Appeal, which denied his certiorari petition in 2023.

Kessler then filed a separate declaratory judgment action against the Ayzens. The trial court, with Judge Reemberto Diaz presiding, granted summary judgment to the Ayzens. The July 1 appellate ruling affirmed that decision.

What it means along the Intracoastal

Under Florida law, waterfront property owners hold special rights tied to their land, including access, use and an unobstructed view of the water. Those rights are property interests protected by the state constitution and cannot be taken without compensation, according to the court's opinion.

But the court drew a line. A neighbor's dock built in front of that neighbor's own property is a lawful exercise of their access rights, even if it clips a peripheral view. The standard is whether the obstruction is "unreasonable," not whether any view is lost at all.

No public comment from the attorneys of record has appeared in available sources. Kessler was represented by Jonathan H. Kaskel and Elizabeth C. DeGori of Dentons US LLP.

The property directly south of the Ayzens' home already has a marginal dock, the court noted.