Miscellaneous

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Need to Know:

  1. Unit Owners and association members often say mean and rude things about Board members, even though those Board Members are volunteers. 
  2. For a Board Member to have a viable claim for defamation the Board member must recognize that the courts view them as limited public figures, which means they MUST be able to allege and prove that.
    • The defendant published a false and defamatory statement about the plaintiff, and
    • The statement was made with actual malice, i.e., with knowledge the statements were false or with what amounts to conscious disregard of their falsity.

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Continue Reading Defamation Claims by Directors and Officers Against Members – What you Need to Know

Association Academy.230119

As we approach the new year, Husch Blackwell’s Condominium & HOA Law Team is excited to launch a fresh new approach to our Association Academy. Join us for the first installment of our new series, Lunch with Lawyers, as we dive into legal trends to watch in 2023. Grab your lunch, log in and set the stage for a successful 2023.
Continue Reading Association Academy | Lunch with Lawyers: Legal Trends to Watch in 2023

Webinar

We are excited to announce a new format for our Association Academies in 2023: Lunch with Lawyers.  This new format will be more interactive, with plenty of time for Q&A.  Luncheons will be held every other month from noon to 1:00.  Save the dates and start planning for 2023.  Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you.
Continue Reading New Webinar Series | Association Academy: Lunch with Lawyers

Documents

In 2022, the Wisconsin legislature adopted additional provisions to the Condominium Ownership Act that affect all Wisconsin condominium associations. Because the new statutes require condominium associations to take affirmative action, your association needs to be aware and get prepared.
Continue Reading Recent Changes in the Wisconsin Condominium Ownership Act that Affect Your Association: Record Keeping, Financial Records, Audits, and Website Requirements

Public Pool
Facts

Marshall Spiegel, the Unit Owner, had been in constant litigation with his Association for over 20 years regarding various matters surrounding the operation and maintenance of the common areas.  One of these lawsuits sought to establish set dates in which the community pool was to remain open, among other things. Spiegel and Association agreed to resolve the dispute by entering into a settlement agreement which established set dates that the pool was to remain open and it was further agreed that “[Spiegel is] not to post any documents relating to the 1618 Sheridan Road building on the windows of his unit, [or]… immediately adjacent to any windows of his unit … with the intent that such documents be readable to passersby.”

After the settlement had been reached in 2000, Spiegel continued to post 1618 Sheridan Road-related signs on a mannequin located in close proximity to the window of his ground-level unit, including two in 2014, two in 2018, and then at least twice a month beginning in April 2020 and lasting until June 2020. In June of 2020, Spiegel filed a petition to enforce the settlement agreement because the community pool was not open during the agreed upon dates (due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic). The Association counter petitioned to enforce the portion of the settlement agreement precluding Spiegel from posting signs relating to 1618 Sheridan Road.
Continue Reading Can you Agree to Waive your First Amendment Rights?

Business Conflict
Facts

The defendant, Lennar Homes developed Martinique at Oasis, a residential community located in Homestead, Florida comprised of 241 homes.  Lennar Homes sold each of the homes in the community to individual homeowners.  Each of the purchase agreements between Lennar Homes and the homeowners contained an arbitration provision, which required the parties to submit any dispute arising out of the sale of the property, including any alleged property damage, to arbitration.  About five years after the first homes were sold, the plaintiff, the Homeowners Association, began noticing potential construction defects in the stucco, stone cladding, and decorative shapes on the exterior of the buildings.  The Association sued Lennar Homes in Florida trial court on behalf of all unit owners in Martinique at Oasis, alleging the issues were caused by defective construction.
Continue Reading Homeowner’s Associations Suing on Behalf of Homeowners Must Abide by Arbitration Provisions

Parked Cars
Facts

The parties to this suit both reside in a condominium association.  Each party owns a unit, and each has parking spaces.  The dispute is over the fact that when the Grudziecki parks their car in their parking spot, even within the lines, it is difficult, if not impossible, to access the ramp to the garage entrance and elevator area from the left side.  As a practical matter, unit owners who wish to access the elevator area must walk to the right side of the ramp when Grudziecki is parked there.  The Greenbergs, whose parking spaces are directly across from Grudziecki’s spot, wanted the court to order that that Grudziecki pull the car forward or move farther toward the left side of the parking space so that they could enter the elevator area from the left side, instead of being “forced to walk around the right side of the ramp, which is farther away from their parking spaces.”  Mrs. Greenberg is disabled and requires the use of a walker and entering from the left would save Mrs. Greenberg a few steps.  When the matter could not be resolved, the Greenbergs filed suit.
Continue Reading Just Because a Resident Has a Disability, an Accommodation May Not Be Reasonable