If you are reading this article, odds are that you have heard of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). Odds also are that this is the first you have heard that a Federal Court in the Northern District of Alabama has ruled it to be unconstitutional because the CTAcannot be justified as an exercise of Congress’ enumerated powers.” National Small Business United v. Janet Yellen et. al., (ND Ala, 3/1/24). Here is what you need to know:Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act Ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL

United States of America v. Aqua 388 Community Association 2023 WL 6890753 US Dist Ct., C.D. California (October 6, 2023)

What you need to know:

  1. If a handicapped person asks for a parking spot to accommodate a disability, grant it unless you have a legal opinion that you don’t need to. 
  2. Contesting a reasonable accommodation case can be time-consuming and expensive, even if you win. If you lose, it’s even more expensive.

Continue Reading Parking for Handicapped Individuals – Denying a Reasonable Accommodation is Costly

What is the Corporate Transparency Act?

The Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) was enacted by Congress on January 1, 2021 (31 USC 5301, et seq.). The stated purpose of the law is to address “the disclosure of corporate ownership and the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.” WHAT? So how does this relate to my Association? The CTA requires small corporations, limited liability companies, and companies created by filing a document with the State (“Reporting Company”) to disclose information about their beneficial owners. Beneficial owners are “any individual who, directly or indirectly:”

  1. Exercises substantial control over a corporation or limited liability company, or
  2. Own 25% or more of the interest in a corporation or limited liability company. 

Continue Reading Corporate Transparency Act – Does Your Association Want to Give the U.S. Government $10,000

What you need to know:

  1. The Inflation Reduction Act extended the Federal Residential Solar Energy Credit and raised it from 26% to 30%;
  2. The Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy published the following guidelines for determining if homeowners are eligible to receive the 30% tax credit;
  3. Members of homeowner associations, condominiums, and tenant-stockholders of cooperative housing corporations are eligible for the tax credit if they pay part of the costs of installation of an eligible solar energy system.

Continue Reading Solar Panels – Can I get a Tax Credit for Installing Them?

Hogg v. Villages of Bloomingdale I Homeowners Association, Inc., 357 So.3d 1271 (2023)

Lessons learned:

  1. An Association can’t seek reformation of a declaration after the applicable statute of limitations has passed – meaning that once the applicable statute of limitations has passed a change to the declaration requires a properly passed amendment.
  2. Before the statute of limitations has passed, a court of equity has the power to reform a declaration where, due to a mutual mistake, the declaration does not accurately express the true intention of the declarant. 

Continue Reading Statute of Limitations Prohibits Association from Bringing Action to Reform Declaration

What you need to know: In some States amendments to a HOA declaration that was not reasonably foreseeable is not enforceable. 

MacLeod v. Mogollon Airpark Inc., Not Reported in Pac. Rptr., 2023 WL 2582622 (Cal. 2023)

Issues:

  1. Was the CC & R amendment prohibiting occupancy of certain guest houses to less than 4 months a year? 
  2. Was the owner entitled to attorney fees for winning the appeal?

Continue Reading An HOA Amendment that was not Reasonably Foreseeable under the Original Declaration may not be Enforceable Without the Consent of 100% of the Owners

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.

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

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