Articles
Business Law
- Owners of Video Copyrights Must Monitor the Internet
- Our Clients Ask Us: Dress Code
- Employment Litigation and the Discovery of Information on Social Networking Sites
- Illegal Immigrants in the Workplace
- New Legislation on Age Discrimination Law
- Our Clients Ask Us: Waiver of Right to Sue
- Criminal Trial in Absentia Against Corporation is Unlawful
- Small Public Companies to Begin Providing Audited Assessments
- The U.S. Census and Your Business
- Our Clients Ask Us: Unpaid Internships
- Law is Upheld Limiting Workplace Intentional Tort Lawsuits
- Health Care Reform: What Small Businesses Need to Know
- Our Clients Ask Us: PDAs
- 2010 Board of Revision Complaints
- The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Limiting Liability at Office Holiday Parties
- Our Clients Ask Us: Grants
- Termination of Employee Post-Childbirth Ruled as Unlawful Sex Discrimination
- Business Condominiums: A More Common Type of Ownership
- Federal Red Flags Rule: Does it Apply to Your Business?
- 6% Interest Could be Heading Your Way
- Our Clients Ask Us: Credit Card/Payment Card Transactions
- Evidence of Oral Promises is Barred
- Act to Assist Workers Facing Mass Layoffs
- Associational Retaliation No Longer a Concern
- Our Clients Ask Us: Pregnancy Policy
- Statute of Frauds Requirement of a Signed Agreement is Upheld
- Ohio Focuses on Worker Misclassification
- New Bills Offers Pension Relief
- Our Clients Ask Us: Employee Termination
- The Ohio Tax Commission Lowers Interest Rate on Court Judgments
- Ohio's New Partnership Statute
- Privacy in the Workplace
- When is the Requirement of Written Contract Not Met?
- What's in a Name? Choosing Your Company Name
- The FDIC Extends IOLTA Unlimited Coverage
- The Age of the Digital Signature
- State Legislation That Could Affect Small Businesses
- Restoration of the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Privacy Laws
- Paying for Employee Travel Time
- Our Clients Ask Us: Jury Duty
- Our Clients Ask Us: Collections
- Ohio's Healty Families Act Could Leave Some Businesses Sick
- Issue 2 and Its Affect on Ohio Companies
- Identity Theft: A Guide for Ohio Victims
- Going Green at the Office
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
- Former Employee's Use of Memorized Client Information Violates Trade Secrets Act
- Federal Protection for Returning Veterans
- Entity Selection
- Enforcement of Non-Competition Clauses
- Electronic Discovery Law
- Cuyahoga County's New Business Docket
- Copyright Licenses for Movie Nights
- Changes to Piercing the Corporate Veil
- Challenge to Ohio's EPA Plan
- Canton Repository- 10/1/06
- Business Succession Planning: The Basics
- Disposing of Confidential Information
Client Resources
Community Associations
- Member Lists: How to Properly Provide Information Requested
- Our Clients Ask Us: Stealing Association Utilities
- So the Board Wants to Amend the Documents, Now What?
- Top 10 Lessons Learned from MultiVest
- Ohio Planned Community Act: The Basics
- Ohio Planned Community Act Signed into Law
- To Self-Manage or Not to Self-Manage
- Our Clients Ask Us: Ignoring Member Complaints
- Ohio Case Law Update
- Discrimination Avoidance on Issues of Familial Status
- Helping Owners Understand the Necessity of Reserves
- Owner Grievances and Withholding Maintenance Fees
- Our Clients Ask Us: Owners Who Walk Away
- S.B. 187: Ohio Planned Community Act
- Change in the Economic Climate and Corresponding Change in Rental Restrictions
- Pet Restrictions: What is Considered Livestock?
- Inspections of Association Property and Liability Concerns
- Improper Rule or Regulation Pitfall
- The Right to Dry: The Next Attack on Association Regulations
- Our Clients Ask Us: Fence Installation
- Federal Red Flags Rule Update: Change in Effective Date
- Qualification for FHA Availibility
- Position as an Officer- What Does it Really Mean?
- Our Clients Ask Us: Leasing Units to Family Members
- Florida Association Driven to Bankruptcy
- Fair Housing: What Board Members Need to Know
- Methods for Keeping the Peace- Part V
- Ohio Planned Community Bill Introduced in Ohio Legislature
- Overrun by Renters!
- Our Clients Ask Us: Length of Foreclosure Process
- Exclusive Contracts Banned by FCC
- The Crisis Continues- Impact on New Condominiums
- Methods for Keeping the Peace- Part IV
- Federal Red Flags Rule: Does it apply to Community Associations?
- Here Kitty, Kitty: Whose Cat is That?
- Our Clients Ask Us: Repair Reimbursement
- Victory for Association's Architectural Restrictions
- Curfews in Associations
- Methods for Keeping the Peace-- Part III
- The Beginning of a New Era: Developer Foreclosures and Builder Foreclosures
- Federal Programs to Aide Homeowners
- Our Clients Ask Us: Tenants on Board?
- Volatile Enforcement Hearings
- Declaration and Bylaws vs. Rules and Regulations-- What's What
- Methods for Keeping the Peace- Part II
- Accepting an Assessment Increase
- What Happens When a Member Files for Bankruptcy
- EXCLUSIVE USE AREA REPAIR-WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT?
- Our Clients Ask Us: Additions
- Methods for Keeping the Peace (1)
- Proper Use of Reserve Funding
- Recent Ohio Court Ruling: Arbitration Procedures
- Our Clients Ask Us: Partial Payments
- Our Clients Ask Us- Maintenance/ Service Contracts
- Our Clients Ask Us- Pool Membership
- Coping with Budgetary Challenges
- National Trends in Budget Management
- New Requirement for Fannie Mae Backed Loans
- Suspension of Privileges in Response to Non-Payment
- Our Clients Ask Us: Keys to Units
- Assisting Elderly Association Members
- From Community Newsletter to Defamation Lawsuit
- Superlien Legislation: Is Ohio Next?
- Our Clients Ask Us- Fuel Surcharges
- Are You Covered? D & O Insurance Explained
- Denial of Architectural Requests: Avoiding Litigation
- HR Act 3221: The Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HOPE Fund)
- Our Clients Ask Us- Association Members Feeding Wildlife
- Our Clients Ask Us- Association Picnic/ Party
- Smoking Bans- Can They Apply to a Unit?
- Our Clients Ask Us- Satellite Dishes
- Our Clients Ask Us- Open Board Meetings
- Our Clients Ask Us- Delinquent Members
- Our Clients Ask Us- Water Damage
- Our Clients Ask Us- Association Pools
- Strategies for Reduction of Legal Costs
- Smart E-mails: Avoiding Use of the Technology
- Effect of New Underwriting Guidelines for Home Loans
- The Business Judgment Rule: Protecting Board Decisions
- Smoking Bans- Can They Apply to a Unit?
- When is Patriotism Allowed? Displaying the American Flag
- Association Attorneys: The Mystery of Who We Represent
- Discussion of Association Issues Over E-mail
- Protecting Association Assets
- Developing a "Community" Through Fostering Relationships
- Defacing Common Elements: Catching a Graffiti Artist
- Prison Time for Kathleen DeSalvo
- Pet Restrictions
- Guidelines for Selecting a Reserve Professional
- Going Green: Making the Association Earth-Friendly
- Pool Safety Receives Congressional Attention
- Corporate Ownership of Units in the Community
- Rule Enforcement: Is Some Discretion Allowed?
- Political Signs: Free Speech or Rule Violation?
- The Mortgage Crisis: Foreclosure Rates Affect Associations
- Tax Relief For Common Elements
- Representing The Condominium Purchaser
- Practical Pointers In Ohio Condominium Law
- Condominium Loans
- Legal Audit Checklist
- Condominium Insurance Seminar
- Handling Condominium Disputes
- Condominium Defects
- Analysis Of Ohio's Condominium Act Amendments
- Ban on Exclusive Cable Deals by the FCC
Cyber Law
Estate Planning
In the News
- Legislator: Bill would provide Ohio condo associations with more financial flexibility (from The Daily Reporter, Columbus, OH)
- MultiVest Clients Look to Rebound, Recover Money- Cleveland.com- 3/2/07
- Home and Condo Associations Missing "Millions"-Cleveland.com-2/20/07
- Dueling Associations in Lengthy Litigation Over Causeway-Columbus
- Ohio Island Homeowners Association Snarled in Legal Fights- ABC 13 Toledo- 10/2/06
- Johnson Island Toll Halted- Toledo Blade- 6/8/06
Real Estate Law
Position as an Officer- What Does it Really Mean?
You have been selected to serve as an officer for your association. So now what? Often times, officers have a title, but beyond that, they are not sure what their specific duties are and how those duties differ from those of a board member. If your by-laws fall silent on specific duties, here is a general synopsis of what is expected of each officer:
President
-leader/CEO of the association
-run board/other meetings
-must be familiar with declaration/by-laws
-spokesperson for the association
Vice-President
-assume duties of President in the event of an absence or resignation
-assist President with normal business
-act as liaison between board and other committees
Treasurer
-chief financial officer of the association
-collect association fees
-reconcile bank accounts and write checks
-give financial reports at meetings
-prepare financial statements
-maintain books for auditing
-ensure books are audited before a new treasurer takes over
Secretary
-keep records for the association
-send out meeting notices, letters, etc.
-prepare agendas
-record and distribute minutes
-bring to every meeting all minutes, a copy of the governing documents, board roster, agenda, ballots, etc. to run the meeting
-notify officers and committee members of their election/appointment
All Officers
-have a fiduciary duty to the association
-should deliver all records and files to their successor when they are replaced
-if a duty is handled by a vendor (such as a property manager, accountant, or attorney), the officer has an obligation to ensure that vendor is performing the duty adequately on their behalf.