2006

Colorado community associations are making headlines.  A few weeks ago, a Pagosa Springs peace wreath made national news.  Our own Mark Payne weighed in on the topic on Denver’s Channel 7.  You can watch the newscast here.  The homeowner association later allowed the homeowner to keep the wreath on display for the holidays. 

Just this week, the family of an autistic child filed a lawsuit in federal district court against their homeowners association in Littleton, Colorado.  According to news reports, the homeowners seek approval of a six-foot privacy fence that they installed to help protect their eight-year-old son.  The lawsuit’s claims fall under the Fair Housing Act.

Continue Reading Community Associations in the News

The Jefferson County District Court ruled last week that a condominium association can prohibit smoking in their four-unit building.   The Heritage Hills #1 Condominium Owners Association amended its bylaws to ban smoking after an owner complained about smoke seeping into her unit.  The District Court upheld the bylaw change stating that second hand smoke "constitutes a nuisance"…

Today, community associations are being challenged to provide services for the full breadth of members. A challenging area is accommodating the needs of disabled members.  The Fair Housing Act require associations to make “reasonable accommodations” for those with needs. The goal of these laws is to make it possible for a disabled person to live within the community by granting and maintaining an exception to the rules of the Association.   An example of such an exception would be to the parking rules.Continue Reading How The Fair Housing Act Applies To Your Association

We want to let you know about an issue that is important to us at Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis and Payne, LLP. In fact we think it is important enough for all of you that we are for the first time coming out with a public opinion on a political issue. We are asking you to Vote NO on 40 which will term limit judges. Whether you are conservative, liberal, Republican, Democratic or Independent Amendment 40 is a bad idea with serious consequences which you should oppose.

Even though the proponents are pushing Amendment 40 purpose of term limiting judges as a good idea; the negatives far out-weight any gains they offer for passage. Continue Reading AMENDMENT 40 – VOTE NO THIS NOVEMBER

As legal counsel for community associations, we assist our clients with the various types of conflict that arise in the course of association business activities.  We understand that conflict can sometimes escalate to a level that requires court intervention.  We also know that certain preventative steps can help to alleviate the time, expense, and emotional drain that come with litigation.  In particular, good contract drafting can help to minimize the impact of disputes between associations and their contractors.  We encourage our clients to seek legal advice when entering into contracts for management services, landscape maintenance, capital improvements, and any other project or service that involves a relationship with an independent contractor.  The following reminders come directly from our experience advising community associations:

 

A bid or proposal form, while legally binding, is not a good contract.  While signing a bid or proposal form may bind the association to pay for services performed by the contractor, the association does not receive any protections as part of the bargain.  We recommend contracts that contain specific provisions which, at the very least, address the scope of work, insurance coverage, payment terms, remedies for default or breach, and attorney fees for the prevailing party in any dispute that may arise under the contract terms.  Bid forms do not typically include these recommended contract terms.

 Continue Reading Contracting with Association Contractors: An Ounce of Prevention

As many of you are probably aware, Colorado recently passed Senate Bill 06-089, legislation intended to clean up provisions from last year’s SB 05-100.  Both Bills modify and add provisions to the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”).  SB 089 creates a number of important new requirements for associations and homeowners, including …