QUESTION: At our last annual meeting, some homeowners designated the management company as their proxy. Other owners voiced concern over possible conflicts of interest since the next board would determine if that company's contract would be continued. When the question was raised as to who could act as a proxy, the manager claimed that even a dog could be designated as a proxy. Is that true?

ANSWER: Although the Corporations Code does not restrict who may act as a proxyholder, the Davis-Stirling Act does. It limits proxyholders to members only. Civil Code §1363.03(d)(1)(A). As a result, a management company may not serve as a proxy.