
While many states have strong protections for private property, Associations can adopt architectural guidelines.
Continue Reading Association Can Adopt Architectural Guidelines
While many states have strong protections for private property, Associations can adopt architectural guidelines.
Continue Reading Association Can Adopt Architectural Guidelines
Defendant, Castletown Corner Owner’s Association, Inc. (“Association”), had a duty to maintain a lift station. Specifically, the declaration imposed an obligation on the Association to pay “all Maintenance Costs in connection with” improvements constructed at the Association. Maintenance costs are then defined as “all of the costs necessary to maintain the … sewers, utility strips, and other facilities … and to keep such facilities operational and in good condition, including, but not limited to, the cost of all upkeep, maintenance, repair, replacement … for the continuous operation of such facilities.” Plaintiff, owner of one of the commercial units, sued the Association for failing to properly maintain the lift station after an incident where the sanitary lift station malfunctioned and flooded the building with human sewage, which allegedly caused Plaintiff’s tenant to terminate its lease. …
Continue Reading Language in Declaration Makes Association Strictly Liable
Plaintiff, Ms. Carmichael, is on the board of directors of Commerce Towers Condominium (“Association”). On the board with her is Mr. Frese and Mr. Vickers. Mr. Vickers, Mr. Frese and Mr. Tarantino are the officers of the Association. (collectively “Officers”). All three are also the officers of Tarantino Properties, Inc. (the “Management Company”). Carmichael and other unit owners (collectively “Owners”), individually and on behalf of the Association, sued the Officers and the Management company for breaches of fiduciary duties and for unjust enrichment because the Officers caused the Association to provide for the maintenance and preservation of property that was not part of the Association (the retail space of the buildings). The Officers and Management Company asserted that the Owners did not have standing to sue on behalf of the Association (a derivative suit).
Continue Reading Self-Dealing by Director is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Case 2)
Most condominiums and homeowner associations (HOAs) are nonstock corporations under Wisconsin Chapter 181. As such their members can make decisions one of three ways:
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Continue Reading Condo and HOA Virtual/ZOOM Meetings in Wisconsin – How Legal Are They?
Plaintiff, Coley, owns a home in an HOA, the Eskaton Village (“Association”). Two other Eskaton named entities (“Eskaton”) develop and support HOAs. A five-member board runs the Association, subject to the Declaration. Eskaton has always controlled three of the five directors on the Association Board because it owns 137 of the 267 units. The three directors are always employees of Eskaton and are “financially incentivized to run the Association for the benefit of Eskaton.” In short, the better Eskaton performs the higher their compensation, which is directly related to the expenses of the Association. Coley, one of the other two directors, filed suit because of various acts by the other directors to benefit their employer at the expense of the Association, including disclosing attorney client privileged communications.
Continue Reading Self-Dealing by Director is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Case 1)
Facts
Plaintiffs were two owners (Maples and Brown) at Compass Harbor Village Condominium Association in Maine (the “Association”) who had purchased their respective units sometime in 2007. The Declarant was an LLC that held more than 50% of the votes (15 of the 24 units) and therefore controlled the board. For many years the Association common areas were not property maintained in many ways. In addition, the Association failed to hold meetings, take votes on Association matters, maintain banking or other records and refused to provide financial information to the owners. The Declarant’s position was that “because it holds a majority of the voting power in the Association and therefore any dispute between it and any of the unit owners would ultimately be decided in its favor.” Plaintiffs claimed to have lost about $53,000 in value in each of their units because of the actions of the Declarant.
Continue Reading Failing to Maintain and Properly Collect Assessments is a Breach of Fiduciary Duties
As Condominium and HOA attorneys, we often receive questions from our clients dealing with all the issues that can get in the way of conducting a successful annual meeting. Most often, it is the issue of not being able to achieve a quorum of owners in attendance—which stymies the Association’s ability to hold Board member elections, approve the budget, and take other important actions to further the HOA’s business for the coming year. So what happens if an Association’s Bylaws calls for annual board elections, but the Association does not hold elections for a number of years? Is there a Board? Does the Board have any authority? A recent case addressed these issues, and the court’s findings might surprise you.
Continue Reading If Your Association Fails to Hold Board Elections at an Annual Meeting, Do You Still Have a Board? The Answer May Surprise You…
In follow up to our announcement on the roll out of our Condominium Legal Document Review© Program, you can now review an example of the type of score card that is provided with each Condominium Legal Document Review© that Husch Blackwell performs by clicking here. The real scorecard is much longer and obviously contains different and/or additional questions, answers and recommendations. The purpose of this letter is to illustrate the value to any condominium association and Board of having the information provided by the Review to properly perform the duties set forth in your documents. As part of the Review Husch Blackwell will:
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Continue Reading Condominium Legal Document Review Program Update
The Board of Directors always has the power to make and amend Rules and Regulations on its own, without owner approval…right? Wrong. The Board’s rule-making power and authority completely depends upon what authority is given by the Declaration and Bylaws, and as we know, all associations’ Declarations and Bylaws are different! This is true in Wisconsin and in many other States. Knowing what is in your governing documents will keep you out of troubling lawsuits.
Continue Reading Know What is in Your Documents—The Board Might Not Have the Authority You Think it Does…
Wouldn’t it be great if you knew if your condominium documents complied with the law? Or if you already suspect that there may be some issues, exactly what those issues are? Now you can! In the same way that a Reserve Study helps a property manager or a board of directors manage their association more efficiently and effectively, so does the Husch Blackwell Condominium Legal Document Review© program.
Continue Reading Condominium Legal Document Review Program