HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 31, 2021
Published: Fri, 12/31/21
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 31, 2021
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When you think you've heard it all, then you hear a story about a condo association struggling with a tenant's alleged penchant for prostitutes.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
In this week's tip, we answer a reader's question about whether witnesses are enough to bring a violation against an allegedly vandalizing homeowner when those witnesses have tried but failed to get video and photographic evidence of the violation.
TV crime shows may have given a misleading impression that boards need more evidence than they think to call an owner or resident onto the carpet.
"Like every case lawyers handle, we like to have more evidence, and videos and pictures are great," says Stephen G. Davis, a Missouri- and Illinois-licensed attorney at Carmody MacDonald in St. Louis, which represents about 200 condo and HOA communities. "We work in a 'CSI' world; we all like to have visual evidence. But that's not a requirement in any documents I've seen. I've not seen any that require video or photographic evidence of a violation.
"It's great if you can get your local municipality to handle violations for you," adds Davis. "That way, you save yourself from being the bad guy, and you save the money you'd pay for an attorney down the road. So we encourage our clients to go that route if they can."
If that's not an option, all you really need is evidence and a fair process. "I think this board should bring the violation," suggests Todd J. Skowronski, an associate at Makower Abbate Guerra Wegner Vollmer PLLC, whose firm advises nearly 2,000 association clients throughout Michigan. "People think eyewitness testimony may not be sufficient. But people can be convicted of a crime based on someone just seeing it. A witness to a violation is competent proof.
"Also, if documents are properly written, they'll have fine procedures and a mini due process procedure," he adds. "And if it's a board member saying this happened, that's often a slam dunk."
That's how Patricia A. Ayars, founder of Ayars & Associates in Glastonbury, Conn., who has been practicing association law for more than 40 years, would approach this situation, too. "Bring the claim," she also advises. "You have testimony, and you have documents. While you don't have pictures of the person doing this, you have a whole bunch of other things that are good proof and should be enough to support a violation."
You may also be able to generate more evidence than you think. Read more, and get details on our expert's real-life enforcement tale of trying to evict a tenant engaging in criminal activity, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4443.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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