Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne is proud to announce that partner Mark K. Payne will be co-chairing and speaking at CLE International’s Community Association Law Seminar at the Grand Hyatt in Denver on June 11, 2007.
Mark will provide an in-depth analysis of the Fair Housing Act and its application to community associations. In an …
One thing about this business – it is full of surprises. One surprise that occasionally comes to light during our course of representing an association has to do with how common expenses are shared. The declaration of restrictive covenants (which imposes the obligation to pay assessments) should describe how expenses of the association are allocated. In fact, CCIOA mandates that the declaration must allocate the various types of allocated interests: the allocation of voting rights; the allocation of burden of common expenses; and in condominiums, the ownership of the undivided interests in the common elements. In a couple of cases recently we’ve discovered that an association is allocating common expenses in a manner that is different from how the declaration specifies.Continue Reading Assessments According to the Declaration – Who Cares?
A question we are frequently asked by associations is how strictly they should enforce their covenants. This was exactly the dilemma faced by a small patio home community located in North West Denver. Apparently a homeowner had painted her house golden yellow. The color was not unattractive – it actually looked quite nice – but it was clearly not one of the earth tone colors approved by the association. After some investigation by the Association’s Board of Directors, it became apparent that this was an honest mistake by the homeowner. She was new to the community and was unaware that she was restricted in her color choices. Although she was also willing to work with the Association to correct things, money was an issue. She had recently experienced some serious personal problems and could not afford to repaint her house. This is when I received a call from the Board’s president asking “What should we do?”Continue Reading Covenant Enforcement – The Golden Rule
Below is a trial story from Larry Leff, senior partner here at WLPP:
Not Your Ordinary Collection Case
In the not too distant past our firm took on a collection case for one of our associations that took an interesting twist. We filed a lawsuit in our county court, jurisdiction under $15,000.00, against a homeowner for the non-payment of assessments. The debtor homeowner filed a counterclaim against the Association, asserting claims that the association breached its contract with him – failing to maintain the property – and that it breached its fiduciary duty to him, among other claims. He also requested exemplary damages. During the course of litigation, the homeowner brought his account current, minus the attorney fees and costs. At trial, the Association was granted an award for its attorney fees and costs, and the court dismissed all the homeowner’s counterclaims.
The homeowner refused to satisfy the judgment, so garnishment proceedings were initiated. The garnishment was successful and the Association collected the full amount.
Subsequent to the satisfaction, the homeowner decided he wanted to do landscaping work to enhance his property. He put up a retaining wall of concrete, railroad ties, gravel and
Continue Reading Not Your Ordinary Collections Case
Do you or your manager ever receive calls from your members about a domestic violence problem between other residents in your community? How about speeding in the public streets? What about the wild party with all the noise and disturbance at 2:00 a.m.? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! Well, you’re the Association, after all; ENFORCE THE !@##$@@ COVENANTS!! TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM!!Continue Reading Why Call The Police When Your Association Can Handle the Problem?
Issue: A large homeowners association is looking to make repairs to the common area fences within the community. What options are available to them to finance this project?
Background: Recently, the Board of Directors of a large homeowners association called our office to discuss a problem. It seems that they had common area fences that were fairly old and in desperate need of some TLC. Unfortunately they did not have any funds available to make the necessary repairs. Pursuant to the Association’s covenants, the Board was severely restricted in the amount it could set for the annual assessments each year (without approval of at least 2/3 of the members, the covenants limited the annual assessment to a 10% increase from the previous year). As a consequence, the Association’s reserve fund was nearly empty. The Board had tried on several occasions to get the members to approve a special assessment, but it was turned down each time. The Board was now wondering what options it had available to pursue.Continue Reading Financing Repairs to the Common Elements
The first day of Spring and the recent sunshine and warm temperatures may have prompted you to start thinking about your Association’s Summer event calendar. If your Association’s list of events includes outdoor movie nights, concerts, or other performances, the Association may need to pay licensing fees. United States copyright laws protect composers, lyricists, music publishers, and movie producers and distributors, among others. Community associations that play music in recreational facilities, at festivals or at other events likely need to obtain the appropriate licenses to use the music. With few exceptions, showing movies also requires licensing. Continue Reading Community Association Summer Events: Licensing Your Music and Movie Use
County Court, where most collection cases are heard, tends to judge a case more by equity rather than the letter of the law. Each County Court Judge or Magistrate has their own interpretation of what is fair and reasonable. Thus, we must proceed with caution when going to trial, even if we know the law is on our side. Our first trial story took place last summer and illustrates this point.Continue Reading Trial Story 1
The Community Associations Institute (CAI) held its annual Law Seminar this year from February 22-24 in New Orleans. All the attorneys from our office were able to attend and discuss current trends in HOA law with colleagues from around the country. Topics this year included "Cyber Issues and Electronic Voting", "7 Deadly Fair Housing Sins of Community Associations", and "The Latest Trends in Rental Restrictions". Much was learned and a good time was had by all.Continue Reading Attorneys Attend CAI Law Conference
HELLO all board members, homeowners, and those interested in HOA law. As part of a regular feature on the blog, I will be posting a recap of an important (and hopefully interesting) issue that has been recently addressed by our office. Since we find that the same issues tend to repeat themselves often, it is likely that you will read something your association has faced in the past. I hope you find this feature both informational and entertaining.
This weeks topic: Who pays the deductible on the Association’s insurance policy?
A few weeks ago this question was posed to us by a mid-size condominium association following a water leak within a Member’s Unit. Apparently the Member’s hot water heater burst, causing significant damage to the Unit’s drywall and flooring. Shortly after the accident, the Member contacted the Association seeking to make a claim on its hazard insurance policy. Since the Association’s policy covered the interior of the Member’s Unit, and the damages exceeded the policy’s $1,000 deductible, the Association agreed to file a claim with its insurer. However, the Association did not know who should pay the deductible amount.
Continue Reading Who Pays the Insurance Deductible?
