HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 5, 2012
Published: Thu, 05/03/12
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Trayvon Martin Tragedy Hits Close to Home for HOAs
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In this week's tip, we offer lessons for HOAs from the
very sad death of Trayvon Martin.
The Feb. 26, 2012, fatal shooting of the teenager by an
informal neighborhood watch leader, George Zimmerman,
occurred on the grounds of The Retreat at Twin Lakes
Association, a Sandford, Fla., HOA where Martin was visiting
and Zimmerman lived.
"The very tragic Martin case leads to interesting issues for
HOAs, but they're not new," says Elizabeth White, a shareholder
and head of the community associations practice at the law
firm of LeClairRyan in Williamsburg, Va. "We've seen instances
like this before, where neighborhood watch individuals have
crossed the line and taken on the role of law enforcement. HOAs
have been dealing for years with neighborhood watch issues and
how to structure neighborhood watches."
An HOA isn't liable for damages simply because a crime happens
on its grounds. Where The Retreat may have gone wrong is in
allegedly holding Zimmerman out as a resource for residents to
contact regarding crime. The evidence, if numerous reports are
true, is a newsletter sent to The Retreat's residents the same
month Zimmerman fatally shot Martin. Though no media outlets
have produced a copy of the newsletter, many report that under
the heading "Neighborhood Watch," the HOA recommended that
residents who become crime victims first call police and then
contact "our Captain, George Zimmerman...so he can be aware
and help address the issue with other residents."
The HOA's apparent endorsement of Zimmerman's actions may be
its downfall. "What you have here is possibly a blurring of
the lines of what really should be a function of the police
department," says Jed L. Frankel, a partner at Eisinger,
Brown, Lewis, Frankel & Chaiet PA in Hollywood, Fla., who
advises community associations.
"If the association told people to report things to Zimmerman,
that's a much different function than the crimewatch programs
we have here, whose role is to call the police and report
suspicious activity. We even have citizen police activities,
where people go out in police cars. But they don't go chasing
after suspicious people. That's a police function."
What should an HOA's role be when it comes to preventing and
reducing crime? Find out in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/713.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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