Blog Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Taylor, Eldridge & Endres, P.C.

AVOIDING “US v. THEM” PART I – INCLUSION

Too often, hardworking community association Boards find themselves at odds with their homeowners.

Conscientious Board members, who are volunteering their time, talents and energy to better the community, wonder why their efforts are unappreciated and why they are constantly under attack. The tendency is to “circle the wagons,” which only serves to perpetuate and exacerbate the feelings of animosity between board members and the constituents they are trying to serve.
Continue reading “AVOIDING “US v. THEM” PART I – INCLUSION”

Grandfathered … or not?

A Westchester County cooperative apartment corporation decided to prohibit washing machines in apartments by creating a new House Rule.

The basis for the new rule was a finding by the Board that the plumbing system in the building was “not sufficiently robust” to handle washing machines. The co-op’s Board of Directors, however, took no steps to demand that shareholders remove any existing washing machines from their units. Implicitly, the Board appeared to have granted these shareholders some form of “grandfather” status.
Continue reading “Grandfathered … or not?”

Community Associations in the News

You may have read recently about the homeowners association in Las Vegas in which a teenage resident was severely injured in a playground accident (see the July/August 2018 issue of CAI’s Common Ground Magazine, pages 20-25).

The jury rendered a $20 million verdict for the plaintiff, which overwhelmed the HOA’s liability insurance policy limit of $2 million.

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Board Member E-mails

While e-mail has become one of the most common and preferred means of communication, it may not always be the wisest or safest method for board members of community associations. At the very least, certain precautions need to be taken.

First and foremost, boards should not be making decisions and taking votes by e-mail. Decisions need to be made at a board meeting. A decision made by e-mail, if challenged, will likely not be upheld in a court of law. The only instance when an e-mail vote might have some validity would be in an emergency situation, where an issue arises that could not have been anticipated and requires immediate attention. Any such decision should be confirmed in the minutes of the next board meeting – ideally held soon after the vote. Even under such circumstances, a conference call of the board members would be preferable to an e-mail decision. Continue reading “Board Member E-mails”

Broken Pipes = Headaches for Condominium Boards

With the recent spate of frigid temperatures, we have received numerous calls from condominium Boards of Managers about incidents of broken pipes due to freezing.

When the pipes thaw, water floods and damages the unit and, often, neighboring units and common areas. The board invariably accuses the homeowner(s) of negligence for failing to properly winterize the home before heading south for the winter, or for setting the thermostat too low. However, even if the claim of homeowner negligence is correct – and it usually is – the burden for fixing the unit in most communities will fall upon the board and its insurance coverage. Continue reading “Broken Pipes = Headaches for Condominium Boards”

A Board’s Map To Successful Collection Of Common Charges And Assessments In Condominiums And Homeowners Associations

COLLECTIONS OVERVIEW

In order to successfully operate a planned community, payment of certain expenses associated with the operation, maintenance, and control of the association are required. The Board creates a budget for these expenses, including proper reserve funding, and thereafter assesses the owners. The obligation of the owners to make payment of these assessments and the liability for non-payment is found in the association’s governing documents.

If too many owners fail to make payment of their common charges and assessments, the association may be unable to pay its bills and keep the community running in the fashion and at the level the owners expect. Whenever an owner fails to make payment, all other owners must pay that delinquent owner’s share. As a result, Boards have little choice but to move forward against delinquent owners. Failure to do so can be seen as a Board not satisfying its fiduciary obligation and affirmative duty to the community. Continue reading “A Board’s Map To Successful Collection Of Common Charges And Assessments In Condominiums And Homeowners Associations”

New Conflict of Interest Law

The NYS Legislature recently passed a new law, signed by the Governor in September 2017, which purports to impose conflict-of-interest reporting requirements upon condominiums and cooperative housing corporations.

The law requires, first of all, that at least once each year, each “director” of a condominium or co-op board receive a copy of the Related Party Transactions section from the NYS Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (Section 715) or, for a co-op board, a copy of the Interested Directors section from the Business Corporation Law (Section 713). These provisions are similar to each other and prohibit boards from entering into contracts where a conflict of interest exists, unless the conflict has been disclosed by the interested director. Continue reading “New Conflict of Interest Law”

Smoking In The Boardroom

In recent years, municipalities have banned cigarette smoking in government offices and places of public accommodation. Many private entities also prohibit cigarette smoking in office buildings, factories and warehouses.

Even facilities that originally established designated smoking areas have been gradually doing away with them. While cigarette smoking has long been considered dangerous to the user, the relatively recent prohibitions against smoking are largely designed to protect non-smokers from the ill effects of second-hand smoke. Continue reading “Smoking In The Boardroom”

A Community Association Ombudsman in New York

You may have read the recent article in CAI’s Common Ground magazine entitled “Man in the Middle” about community association ombudsmen in Nevada, Florida, Virginia and Colorado.[i]

An ombudsman is defined as “a public official appointed to investigate citizens’ complaints against local or national government agencies that may be infringing on the rights of individuals.”[ii] In the community association context, an ombudsman is frequently called on to help resolve disputes between irate homeowners and community Boards of Directors/Managers. The Common Ground article depicted the mixed reviews that the ombudsman office has received in these four states. Continue reading “A Community Association Ombudsman in New York”

Individual Board Member Liability After Fletcher v. Dakota

The Dakota, one of the legendary co-operative apartment buildings in Manhattan, has long shunned attention.

Its Board of Directors has allegedly even denied the purchase applications of celebrities in order to avoid the publicity that accompanies high profile residents. Ironically, instead of fame, the Dakota has been plagued by infamy, most notably by the murder of John Lennon at its doorstep, and most recently by a discrimination law suit brought by a former Board president against the Board of Directors and two individual Board members.[i] Continue reading “Individual Board Member Liability After Fletcher v. Dakota”

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