HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 15, 2021
Published: Fri, 01/15/21
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How to Respond When an Ousted HOA Board Sabotages a New Board
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In this week's tip, we respond to an HOAleader.com reader who has asked for help with ousted board members who are doing all they can to interfere with the transition to new leadership.
The reader has provided a lot of detail, but the gist of the problem is that former board members are now refusing to turn over HOA records and account passwords, including computer files; have deleted the official HOA email accounts used by members to communicate with the board within hours of the election being decided; have locked the new board out of the Facebook social media account; and are actively obstructing the new board from communicating with the members.
Unfortunately, this is very common, though there are variations on how ousted board members can behave badly. "I've seen this scorched-earth tactic by former board members who are hurt at not being reelected," says David Firmin, managing partner at Altitude Community Law PC in Lakewood, Colo., with satellite offices in Loveland, Colorado Springs, Durango, and Frisco.
"But what I've seen is that those board members go out into the membership at large and take everything they learned as board members and use it against the board," he adds. "I'm dealing with a former board member right now who knows the association didn't do what it was supposed to do because he didn't want to do this as a board member. And now he's suing the board over the matter.
"In a way, he's right that the board didn't do this, and the association isn't in compliance with the statute," notes Firmin. "His lawsuit is costing the association money. It's been filed, if for no other reason, to prove a point. There's no way to prevent that type of situation. We encourage all our board clients to come into compliance with the laws as soon as possible for that reason."
Back to our reader's example. Our experts say this new board must immediately challenge this behavior either with their state's department that oversees community associations, if one exists, or in court.
"I have three to four situations that are almost identical," laments Alessandra Stivelman, who is board-certified in condo and planned development law and a partner at Eisinger Law in Hollywood, Fla. "The first thing we do is write a demand letter.
"The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation generally has jurisdiction, but they're not always effective in getting the information," she adds. "They may write a letter, and they may require a board member to turn information over.
That's just the start of what this board can do to curb this bad behavior. Read more, including tips for preventing this situation, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4259.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Construction Contracts: Protect Your Condo/HOA from These One-Sided Traps
In a December HOAleader.com article, one of our experts lamented construction contracts: "I tell every single client: I'm not trying to drum up business. Please send construction contracts to us," requested Jennifer Horan, a shareholder in the Naples, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff, who has represented condos and HOAs for more than 15 years. "Those are even more terrible than management contracts," she said at the time. What's so bad about them? Here are our experts' tips on strengthening your association's position in a construction contract.
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Click here to read full article:
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Click here to read full article:
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