I got the last newsletter which says we have been threatened with a lawsuit but we were not told by whom or over what issue.
The newsletter said it was a board member who has threatened us and it's NOT Diane McAlpine, Mark Carlton, Donna Vargas or Richard Wartenbe.
That leaves only one board member, Laverne Boyd. Process of elimination. Seems childish to me.
The newsletter didn't say why but it did say we have (the board has) paid several thousand dollars of OUR MONEY to lawyers over this.
Whatever for? Advice? Consulting?
My opinion is if they might have to have a special assessment (like collecting $1000 from each of us) we deserve full disclosure of any issues that are material to the owners at College Green. If we will have to pay to defend a lawsuit the law requires such disclosure.
And nothing less that full disclosure. In fact there is caselaw on this. Read it for yourself:
http://www.davis-stirling.com/MainIndex/DisclosureofLawsuits/tabid/3597/Default.aspx#axzz23ZVHRYYtThis is being kept secret by the "new era" HOA board. As far as I can tell this is improper and maybe illegal. The secrecy, the coverup, I mean.
What do you think?
having attended the board meeting sep 19 seeking info on the expense of $1200 of community funds for legal advice, i cannot yet say i'm convinced it was a reasonable expenditure.
ReplyDeletei have reviewed some documents provided and related to the issue and am seeking further information.
it does seem the board members who were in attendance are of the opinion this particular event has cooled down and there is no expectation of additional actions on either side of the dispute.
having said that, i am of the opinion there needs to be some adjustment to the operation of the board to help prevent future disputes among members from costing the community money, especially for legal fees.
among the non board members in attendance, i was impressed by a like minded attitude regarding what appears to be personal animosities contributing to difficulties in the management of the community affairs; an attitude that says quite clearly, the personal issues need to be removed from the business of the community.
dear blogger, thank you for the forum, looking forward to it's blossoming into a valuable, positive tool for the community.
RK, thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI hope we don't have to pay hourly for legal advice for everything anyone says.
Think about it: If someone threatens a lawsuit but they haven't hired an attorney and haven't filed, and believe me a lawyer would want a $5000 retainer to file, there is probably no reason to spend money until you have been served. Not a lot of people would follow through on a case like that. Assuming it's not a contingent fee case, that is. And this wouldn't be.
I generally wait until I am served to start paying lawyers, if they are charging hourly.
It's pretty easy to get initial free legal advice if you haven't had papers layed on you.
Maybe the current board doesn't know that, or agree with that as an approach.