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Walsh v. Hawthorn Hills Owners of Rochester, Inc. 2023 WL 4144757, Not Reported in N.W.Rptr (Michigan, 2023)

What you need to know:

  1. A new construction project (street lights) can be a general and recurring expense and therefore fall under the annual budget.
  2. The key to determining whether something is or is not potentially part of the budget is what is provided in the association documents. 

Continue Reading Can a New Capital Project be Paid by Annual Assessments – YES

What you need to know:

Where the governing documents or the statute place the authority to interpret the governing documents with the board, the board’s interpretation will be binding unless unreasonable. However, if a director has a conflict of interest, the director can’t be part of the decision making process or the vote and must recuse herself/himself.Continue Reading Conflicts of Interest and The Boards Power to Interpret the Governing Documents

What you can’t do:

  1. Breed, size, and weight limitations may not be applied to an assistance animal.
  2. Pet conditions and restrictions such as pet deposits cannot be applied to assistance animals.
  3. You may not ask an applicant or tenant to:
    • Provide access to medical records or medical providers or
    • Provide detailed or extensive information or documentation of a person’s physical or mental impairments.
  4. A request for a reasonable accommodation may not be unreasonably denied, or conditioned on payment of a fee or deposit
  5. The response to a reasonable accommodation may not be unreasonably delayed.
  6. You are not entitled to know an individual’s diagnosis or require disclosure of:
    • Medical records,
    • A diagnosis or
    • The severity of a disability.
  7. You may not insist on specific types of evidence if the information which is provided or actually known to the association meets the requirements of the FHA (Fair Housing Act).

Continue Reading 7 Things You Need to Know about Emotional Support Animals in 2023

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

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

Money House

The Garrett’s purchased their property in the HOA in 2001.  The CCR’s required an owner to obtain the approval of the architectural control committee (“ACC”) before doing any construction on the property.  The Garrett’s submitted plans to build a pool in their backyard, but the original plans were rejected by the ACC because the plans “were too vague and because professional plans are required for such a large project.”  The Garrett’s then resubmitted professional plans for the pool only which the ACC approved.  When the Garret’s built the pool, the pool equipment was on the common element and they built far more than just a pool.  The Board sent the Garrett’s a cease-and-desist letter, and after an executive session advised the Garrett’s to move the pool equipment within their property and return the common element to its original condition (they had lowered the height of a fence).  Although Mr. [Brett] Garrett attempted to engage a board member in a conversation, the board member advised that “he would not meet with the Garretts … [and that he] would discuss the matter only in the company of the board at a proper meeting.”  In reality, the Garret’s project “had blossomed into a complete backyard renovation with retaining walls, stairs, a drainage system, patio pavers, and planter beds,” none of which were part of the approved plan.
Continue Reading Building in HOA Common Area – MUCH More Costly Than Owner Thought (Because of Association Attorney Fees)

10 Commandments of Association Management

Please join Husch Blackwell’s Condominium & HOA Law Team as we reveal the 10 commandments of what association management “Shalt Not” do while governing. Together, we’ll cover the basics of what homeowner associations (HOAs), condo boards and managers need to know. We’ll also dive into the nitty gritty of assessment collections.

Presenters
Lydia Chartre, Partner, CCAL
Dan Miske, Partner, CCAL
Ketajh Brown, Attorney
Sandra Chapman, Senior Paralegal
Billie Fatheree, Paralegal
Continue Reading Association Academy: The 10 Commandments of Association Management – September 25, 2020

Holding:  The Supreme Court of Vermont held that a homeowners association, as assignee from the developer, could charge lot owners for its reasonable costs to maintain the subdivision private roads and water system, including litigation and other overhead costs.

The Facts:  A 92 lot subdivision in Vermont was developed in the 1960s. The subdivision contained private roads and a private water system that was to be maintained by the developer. Owners/Purchasers of the lots were granted the right to use the private roads and water system, and a service fee for said use was imposed.

In 1998, maintenance of the private roads, streetlights, water system, and recreational facilities was turned over from the developer to a homeowners association (the “Association”). The Association continued to charge the homeowners a service fee to maintain these parts of the subdivision per the relevant subdivision deed, which included litigation and overhead costs.

In 2009, a Homeowner Plaintiff alleged that the service fee was unreasonable and refused to continue paying.
Continue Reading Owner Responsible for Share of Costs to Maintain Subdivision Facilities