HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - November 9, 2012
Published: Fri, 11/09/12
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When Owners Won't Pay Fines: Nailing Down Costs,
and Litigation Alternatives
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As we mentioned last week, on September 21, 2012,
home owners in a Florida HOA were awarded $85,000
in damages in a lawsuit they brought against their
HOA, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The fight
was over a $2,212 bill for sod installed by the
HOA that the owners disputed. The judge found that
the Pebble Creek Homeowners Association failed to
comply with its governing documents in imposing the
charge. The owners spent more than $222,000 to get
to this point-and the association probably spent
nearly as much-and the next step is for the judge
to determine whether to force the association to
reimburse the owners for their attorneys' fees.
In this week's tip, we offer suggestions on nailing
down your lawyer before you launch a lawsuit against
an owner. "We try to make sure going into litigation
that we let the client know based on our best estimates
what the probabilities are, what the cost may be,
and at what point we should reevaluate the situation,"
says Nathaniel Abbate Jr., a partner at Makower Abbate
& Associates PLLC in Farmington Hills, Mich.,
who represents associations.
"Any attorney representing an association has a duty
to make sure everybody's on board with an exit strategy,"
adds Abbate. "What do we want out of this case? How much
are we willing to spend? How much are we willing to fight
for principle, and at what point are we willing to cut
our losses? It all goes back to thinking it through,
not having one hothead board member with an axe to grind
steering the boat, and making sure there's an exit
strategy before you file the case."
If your lawyer is always-without exception-suggesting
you pursue litigation, then that may actually be your
best option. But if that stance makes you uncomfortable,
you may want to consider working with another lawyer who
stresses a less confrontational stance.
"In everything that we talk about when getting hired at an association,
we stress the need to communicate and not litigate and
to negotiate and not litigate," says David W. Kaman,
a Columbus-based partner at Kaman & Cusimano LLC, which
represents associations throughout Ohio.
Find out more, including alternatives to suing your
owners, in our new article, Pursuing Fines,
Part II: Could This Board Have Won Without Litigation?
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/778.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Pursuing Fines, Part II: Could This Board Have Won Without Litigation?
This is the second in a two-part series on how far to pursue violations and
fines against home owners. In this article, we discuss how to work with your
lawyer to evaluate the risks of litigation against owners and alternatives
to consider.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Pursuing-Fines-Part-II-Could-This-Board-Have-Won-Without-Litigation.cfm
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Pursuing Fines, Part I: Did This Board Breach Its Fiduciary Duty?
This is the first in a two-part series on how far to pursue violations and
fines against home owners. In this article, we discuss board duties when it
comes to pursuing fines and how to decide whether to sue home owners.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Pursuing-Fines-Part-I-Did-This-Board-Breach-Its-Fiduciary-Duty.cfm
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Do Your HOA Committees Keep Records? Should They?
In this week's tip, we discuss whether your HOA's committees should keep
records. They should, of course. It's the "how" they do it that's up to you.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Do-Your-HOA-Committees-Keep-Records-Should-They.cfm
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Are You Keeping Proper Committee and HOA Board Records?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "We are having a very difficult time
getting our past and current board members and committee members to turn
over the records of the association. People act like they are not records of
the association and just say they are going to keep them or throw them away. We
don't have any ARC [architectural review committee] records or minutes
from meetings."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Are-You-Keeping-Proper-Committee-and-HOA-Board-Records.cfm
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5 Tips for Creating a Smart HOA Records Retention System
If you're just jumping on the "let's keep records" bandwagon, Brad van
Rooyen, a partner at Home Encounter, a Tampa, Fla., company that manages 15
community associations totaling about 3,000 owners, suggests you ask
yourself some questions that will guide you to a smart process.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/5-Tips-for-Creating-a-Smart-HOA-Records-Retention-System.cfm
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