Risk Management

When owners sue a community association board of directors, the board often turns to the business judgment rule as a defense to the allegations. The defense may lead to the dismissal of the case before trial — but not always. A recent case out of New York is a stark reminder that board members don’t…

If your clients have problems getting sufficient attendance at meetings to elect new board members, they’re not alone. The good news, though, is that this generally doesn’t impact the authority of the incumbent board to act on behalf of the association. That was the ruling in a recent case that made it to the Michigan…

Community associations often struggle to achieve the quorum required to elect new board members at their annual meetings. But does that mean the board members who carry over lose the authority to act? A Michigan Court of Appeals recently said it means no such thing. Channel View East Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. Ferguson (Mich. App.…

Owners can act out in different ways when they don’t like how their associations are carrying out their business and feel their complaints are being ignored. One common reaction is to withhold assessments until they get the response they want. But the law generally doesn’t let them do this. The Indiana Court of Appeals recently…

Owner dissatisfaction with the way a community association is performing or the conditions or quality of the community and its amenities can create significant problems for an association — but it doesn’t justify the withholding of assessments. The Indiana Court of Appeals recently made clear that owners don’t have the option to simply stop paying…

2020 is here, and election season is right around the corner — depending on your location, it may have already started. You can count on some owners wanting to post signs supporting their preferred candidates. What can your client associations do about it? According to Stephen Davis, an attorney with the firm Carmody MacDonald who…

In these heated times, anything involving politics has the potential to stir up trouble. With another big election year poised to consume the country, community associations might find themselves descending into dramatic, disruptive, and costly divisions. Even ostensibly non-political restrictions — such as those on signs — might trigger lengthy litigation if your clients don’t…

It’s taken almost two years of hearings, comments, and modifications, but California’s new regulations aimed at curbing housing discrimination have been finalized and approved. “As far as we can tell, these are the first detailed state fair housing regulations in the country,” says Kelly Richardson, a principal with Richardson Ober DeNichilo PC, a California law…

From fashion and slang to legal rights, California is known for starting trends. Now the state is poised to launch a sweeping set of fair housing regulations that go beyond the federal rules in some areas and could become the model for other states. “As far as we can tell, these are the first detailed…

This week, we dig into the rise in incivility at community association meetings. Examples abound of inappropriate behavior these days, making it difficult for managers and boards to perform their duties. Rather than ignoring such conduct, though, they need to take a proactive stance, and we’ll explain how. From profane name-calling to fistfights, the behavior…