Every profession has its war stories. For community associations, these stories increasingly involve owners who, because of age, emotional problems, or both, pose a threat to themselves and to others in the community. Like the woman with Alzheimer’s, who wandered regularly from her complex when her son, with whom she lived, was traveling on business. Go to Resource
Litigation Resources
According to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a violation of the Fair Housing Act does not occur until a requested accommodation is first refused. In a recent case from Hawaii, a homeowner was granted temporary permission to keep a companion pet while the Board of Directors investigated the request. According to the court theGo to Resource
A major objective of the architectural review process is to have in place guidelines and procedures that are perceived by homeowners to be fair and reasonable. After all, if owners perceive the process as fair, they are much more likely to voluntarily comply with those guidelines and procedures. The use of forms can and shouldGo to Resource
A recent Colorado Supreme Court decision, Smith v. Executive Custom Homes, Inc., 230 P.3d 1186 (Colo. 2010), considerably shortens the time limit for bringing many construction defect lawsuits. Homeowners and homeowner associations risk losing the right to seek reimbursement from builders, developers and other construction professionals unless they carefully and quickly act upon discovery ofGo to Resource
Associations have legal responsibilities under the governing documents and through common law to take reasonable steps to exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers of which the Association actually knew or should have known. There are several common sense risk management strategies associations can take to minimize the chance of a personal injury claim byGo to Resource