WHEN:   Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WHERE:  Briarwood Golf Club (www.briarwoodgolf.net)

TIME:    6:00pm  Appetizers/Cash Bar
6:30pm  Seminar begins
9:00pm  Seminar concludes

TOPIC:  Fair Housing, Section 8 Housing and ADA (Parking/Pets/Play Areas) 

Please RSVP to Stephanie by email at receptionist@ottesq.com  or call (216) 771-2600.

This common misconception often extends not only from the unit owners, but also from the board members. The attorney represents the association as the corporate entity. The client is the corporation.  This relationship is best explained away by stating whom the association attorney does not represent.

The association attorney does not represent the individual board members.  The board acts as the decision-making body under the governing documents of the association to seek and obtain the legal advice of counsel. The association is run by the entire board as one body, and the attorney represents the association, so the attorney has a duty to the board as a whole, not to any individual board member.  The attorney cannot keep any communications with one or more board members confidential from the other board members. The association attorney does not represent the individual members of the association. The attorney can only work for the association if the requested work was approved by the board as a whole on behalf of the corporation.

The association attorney does not represent the property manager or management company. The managers and attorneys work together on behalf of the association, but are not affiliated with one another.  Both are independently chosen by the board after careful consideration.  The manager cannot tell the association which attorney to hire and the attorney cannot tell the association which manager to hire.  It is for the board to determine who is the correct fit for the association and its best interests.

A:  IT DEPENDS. Almost all Associations have governing documents that include a “Non-liability of purchaser at sheriff’s sale/foreclosure sale” clause regarding maintenance fees.  This provision makes it so that the purchaser is not liable for any fees due from the previous owner.

A foreclosure is otherwise known as a “marshaling of liens,” meaning that when the foreclosure is filed, all parties with interests in the property are named as Defendants and given the opportunity to assert a claim in the foreclosure. Near the end of the fore-closure process, the Court will issue a Decree that makes findings of mone-tary amounts for the Defendants, and will also state that all liens will be cleared off the property upon the con-firmation of the sale.  Essentially, this means that liens filed prior to the sheriff’s sale do not have to be  satisfied prior to title transfer.  The buyer will be responsible for main-tenance fees from the sheriff’s sale date forward, regardless of the time of recording of the deed.  If the new owner does not pay within the requisite time, we can start the regular collection process once the title to the property has officially been transferred to the new owner.  It is important to check your recorded documents for this type of provision to determine that the Association has one and must comply with its purview.

One important thing to remember is to keep a cool head.  Try to figure out why the owner or other board member is upset.  Often it is a misunder-standing, or the person feels that their opinion or concern is falling on deaf ears.  If you can determine what the root of the problem is, the solution is often easier to come.

Board members need to realize and accept that they may not always get along and they may vehemently disagree, but, ultimately their job is to do what is in the best interests of the Association and work together toward that common goal.

When dealing with a member that becomes difficult at a meeting, it is important to not completely silence the dissenter.  Doing so causes more harm than good.  The solution is to allow the member to state his or her opinion provided they act appropriately.  Give them a time slot at the meeting to “state their piece.”  Often the hostility comes from the feeling that the Board is unwilling to listen.

If a member refuses to stop talking or otherwise continues to be disruptive, it is best to give them a warning that if they continue, the meeting will be adjourned, the police will be called, or they will be asked to leave.

If this warning does not have the desired effect, then call a brief recess to the meeting and speak to the member privately reiterating the warning.  At this point, if you still cannot get cooperation the Board has the ability to ask the person to leave, to adjourn the entire meeting or to call the police to remove the individual.

Keep perspective that the rantings of one individual has a negative impact on that person, and reacting in an extreme manner may lend some credibility where there should be none.  It is important, despite your individual feelings, to maintain your composure.  It is likely the person is trying to get a reaction out of the Board.  The Board cannot control the actions of an individual owner, but it can control how it responds and it can control the presentation of a united Board.

Ohio Revised Code § 1702.30(B) states that all Board members shall act in good faith, in a manner believed to be in the best interest of the association, and with the care that a similarly situated person would exercise.  So what are a Board’s options in dealing with a Board member acting outside the purview of these guidelines?  This will be the first of a series of articles detailing options available to a Board.  One option is to impose a censure.

A censure is a formal reprimand of a director or board member in a corporate setting.  Conduct worthy of a censure may include personal attacks against fellow board members, disruptions of meetings, breaches of confidence, interference with Association operations, breaches of fiduciary duties, etc.  A censure is accomplished by a motion, approved by a majority of board members in a duly called meeting where a quorum has been established.  The censure is recorded in the minutes and should reflect the specific reasoning for the censure, and the repercussions for continued behavior of this type.

While expressing strong disapproval of a Board Member’s behavior, a censure does not remove the Board Member from the Board nor does it impair the Member’s ability to attend meetings, make and second motions, or vote on motions, unless there is reason for recusing the Board Member from any discussions or vote, as described above.

The reasoning for censuring a Board Member, other than attempting to abate any ongoing problems, is that the Board Member’s behavior may create potential liability for the Association and other Board Members.  If the Board sits by and allows a misbehaving Board Member to go unchecked, it could be viewed as an endorsement of the misconduct.  In addition to  moderating the unacceptable behavior, a censure may minimize or eliminate the Association’s potential liability created by the behavior, a censure may minimize or eliminate the Association’s potential liability created by the Board Member’s inappropriate actions.

The Rising Stars are the best attorneys in Ohio who are 40 and younger, and have been practicing less than 10 years.  Rising Stars must be nominated by other lawyers in Ohio who have had personal experience with the attorney based on dealings as clients, co-counsel, opposing counsel or by judges/magistrates.

Each candidate is reviewed by attorney-led teams who evaluate each candidate based on the recommendations, education and experience, credentials, and good standing with the State.  The attorneys awarded the most points based on the evaluation are given the Rising Stars designation.

Congratulations, Kimberly!

Amanda was licensed to practice law in Ohio in 2009.  Most recently, Amanda worked as an associate attorney for Murray & Murray Co., LPA, in Sandusky, OH, where she primarily concentrated on complex civil litigation.  Amanda also worked for the Legal Aid Society of Western Ohio, representing clients in the areas of consumer law and property law.

She also held a legal internship at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center where she successfully argued before the United States court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and held a clerkship at The Lawrence Firm in Covington, KY.

Amanda will be concentrating on general corporate law and litigation for our community association clients.

Established in 1976, the Certified Paralegal (CP) examination program is a voluntary professional credentialing program developed by the National Association of Legal Assistants and administered by a board composed of paralegals, attorney members of the American Bar Association and members of the field of education active in paralegal training.  The CP program involves successful completion of a multi-day comprehensive examination covering the topics of communications; legal research; ethics; human relations and interviewing techniques; legal terminology; judgment and analytical ability; and four areas of substantive law.  Successful examinees must attend a specified number of continuing education courses in order to maintain their CP designation.

Many associations have regulations when it comes to posting any type of sign.  The most common type of sign that is allowed are “For Sale” signs only.  We see many restrictions that prohibit any other type of sign.  This, of course, would include a complete ban on campaign or election signs.

It is inevitable that we get requests and questions about campaign signs and the unfairness at not being able to post signs, especially during the presidential election years. Many owners feel that it is their right of free speech to place a sign.  However, the association restrictions are a contractual obligation and the owner agreed to the limitation of his/her rights when they purchased the property.  The unfortunate reality is that any association that has a prohibition on signs in their declaration has its hands tied, short of amending the declaration to allow specific types of signs.

Where an association allows signs, the restrictions tend to include the number and size of signs that can be placed in a yard, so that the yard does not contain a billboard or have twenty signs out front.  The restrictions may also contain rules on when the signs can be put up and when they must be taken down.

If you, as a Board, begin to receive a great deal of push back from your residents due to the sign prohibition during election time, it may be something worth looking into changing.   Where it is part of your rule book, it’s often as simple as a board vote.  But where it is in the declaration or bylaws, a formal amendment may be required.

YES and YES. Most counties in Ohio will begin accepting Board of Revision Complaints on January 1, 2012 and will continue through March 31, 2012.  The purpose of the Board of Revision Complaint is to challenge the market value on record with the county, that is, if the county valued the real property too high or too low.  This will, in turn, cause the owner to pay higher or lower property taxes.  The Association provides an appraisal of your common area, and the Board of Revision uses the appraisal to determine the value of the property.  If the Board of Revision agrees with the appraisal, the Association would pay lower taxes or no longer have to pay property taxes on the particular parcel (Association must have title to the parcel in order to file a Complaint.)

If the Board of Revision disagrees with you, the taxes may actually increase.

The majority of the counties in our area will not charge a filing fee to file a Board of Revision complaint, however, you will have to employ an appraiser as an expert on your behalf, and association appraisals can become quite involved. Please contact our office as soon as possible should you decide to file a Complaint or require more information.