BOD

Started by ParkP • 8 replies • 1589 views

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ParkP (Maryland)
Posts: 31

Posted:

Is the board Members to disclose any Law suits when using associaton money?
Against old Management company stating they did not turn over electronic financial statements, The President told this To Community Police officer A county Sheriff, and a few of us over heard this at the meeting.From what i understand that was not done electronically.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Park,
The decision to sue should be recorded as an approved motion in the minutes of the Board meeting where such a decision was made. The money spend would be listed under expenses for legal fees in the association's Income Statement. Are you looking for some other requirement, such as notification to the homeowners? The details of a suit are often discussed in an executive session during a Board meeting it is closed and no minutes kept.

As far as the old management company turning over electronic files, IMO they should but they are not be required to do so unless this is specified in the management Agreement.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Roger,
Correct me if I am wrong. If details of a suit are discussed in executive session, that session has to be announced publicly, and at the end of meeting any action voted on by the Board has to be announced and made a part of the minutes. That involvement by the board to sue or be sued is fodder for the Board open business. From what I read from these posts, is seems much better to get sued than sue, cheaper also, and cheapest to not do either.

ParkP (Maryland)
Posts: 31

Posted:

i agree there is a way to settle with out law suits. things have been kept from us.

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

Quote:

As far as the old management company turning over electronic files, IMO they should but they are not be required to do so unless this is specified in the management Agreement.

If a management contract allowed the management company to be the owner of the data then someone has breached their fiduciary responsibility.

ALL records of the association are and remain the property of the association. The former management company absolutely should be sued since the records are a part of the associations records and their refusal to turn them over would cause the HOA to be in breach of its obligations.

Your BOD should also look into other avenues of dealing with this as it could be a breach of SOXa compliance and other state and federal regulations.

ParkP (Maryland)
Posts: 31

Posted:

the minutes for may & June have not been approved & july til Septembers Meeting. so we are in the dark.
The President is trying to cover hiring the treasure' daughters book keeping business to manage our Hoa with no experience in management this is why he he trying to bring suit against old management company.To take and cover up and smooth it over.To us association members.

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

If you want legal protection, then you should seek legal advice from someone who is licensed. Even if the session cost you $1000, you are probably doing well to protect an investment worth more then 100 times the amount.

Also, you should build a friendly coalition of neighbors to vote for people who will represent the association and govern in an open manner. Minutes are never available before they have been approved. But you can and should attend the meetings if you are concerned about the way things are handled.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Kirk,
I agree, hire a lawyer for lawyer advice, until you find you don't have the cash to put out. Sounds a lot like running a home, doesn't it?
The official minutes are the are the minutes as approved by procedure process of the Board. Anything else is not Official Minutes, it matters not what is written on the paper. I for one,like to see drafts of minutes, and many large association do this, and the real turnaround time from meeting end to putting out Draft minutes can be very brief.
Now is so one is intend on causing trouble with illegal minutes, what can you do really. I think people can handle this, after all, the board does, and yesterday they could have been just as common as us.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Park,

From some of the remarks you've made on this and other posts, I'm of the impression your board is quilty of not being open with the members. This is causing much speculation on your part and that of your fellow members. I would suggesting getting a group of like-minded members together and demanding the board come clean on their actions. If they refuse you can always try a recall! Too many boards don't understand the importance of open communication with the members. In many instances the board isn't doing anything wrong, except promoting the "appearance" of wrong doing simply because they are not communicating with the members.

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