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MOBILE APPLICATION
 I am
pleased to announce the rollout of the Davis-Stirling mobile app for the iPhone,
Droid, Blackberry and iPad.
This powerful app gives
you instant access to our award-winning website's Main Index, Davis-Stirling Act,
checklists, forms, relevant statutes and important case law.
At your Fingertips. If you are in a board meeting and need the text of the Open Meeting Act, you can
pull out your phone and in seconds the information is
at your fingertips in an easy to read format. As with the website, pages are cross-linked for easy access to related material.
If anyone wanted an excuse to buy an iPad, this is it. The
application is dazzling on the iPad.
Free Download. This "must have" resource is
for board members, managers, homeowners and anyone involved in community
associations. Go to our website for a
free download. -Adrian Adams
BOARD VOTES
FORECLOSED PROPERTIES
QUESTION: Who gets to vote on lots owned
by the association as a result of nonjudicial foreclosures?
ANSWER:
Unless your documents state otherwise,
the board has the power to cast ballots for those lots. I've seen boards handle
this in different ways--some boards cast ballots for quorum purposes only,
some cast them for or against candidates and issues,
and some assign the ballots to the President or Secretary to vote at their
discretion. I know this bothers some owners and delights others (it depends on
which side of the fence you're on) but I'm not aware of any statute prohibiting
the practice.
EXTRA INSURANCE
FOR THE PRESIDENT
 QUESTION: Our HOA
provides $1 million in D&O insurance for each board
member. However, our board president takes out extra personal
liability insurance because he serves on our board and charges the association
almost $1,000.00 annually for the added insurance. Is this a common practice?
ANSWER:
No, it’s not a common practice. Moreover, unless the board
approved the expense (by motion and vote at a properly noticed open meeting of
the board which has the item on a published agenda), the president must pay for the insurance out of his own
pocket. If the board wants extra coverage for directors, it should talk
to the association's insurance agent. The board may be able to get better coverage for the entire board at a
better price than what your president obtained personally.
BOARD ORIENTATION &
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS
QUESTION: What is the difference between an organizational meeting
and a board orientation meeting?
ANSWER: An "organizational meeting"
occurs after the election of directors at the annual meeting. It gives new
directors an opportunity to elect officers. Organizational meetings are open
meetings that require membership notice and is listed on the agenda of the
annual meeting. A "board orientation" is an informational meeting where
directors meet with the association's management and/or legal counsel to learn
about their duties as directors. No business is conducted and such meetings are
generally closed.
SMALL CLAIMS
COURT
 QUESTION:
Small
claims court commissioner Elizabeth Munisoglu is interpreting Civil Code
1367.4 to mean that an HOA can only sue for $1,800.00 for monthly assessments.
She ruled that we could only collect $1,800.00 from an owner who owed over
$6,600. She was adamant in her interpretation. Is she correct?
ANSWER:
Commissioner Munisoglu is mistaken but in her defense the statute is poorly
written. It provides that
"An association that seeks to collect delinquent .
. . assessments of an amount less than . . . $1,800 . . . may not collect that
debt through judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure, but may . . .
collect . . . that debt . . . in small claims court . . ."
Civil Code
1367.4(b). In other words, the $1,800 limitation is on
foreclosures, not small claims actions. The statute further states that "The
amount that may be recovered . . . for delinquent assessments may not exceed the jurisdictional limits of the small
claims court."
Civil Code
1367.4(b)(1).
That means associations can collect up to $5,000 in small claims.
No Appeal. This highlights the risk of going into small claims
court for delinquent assessments. Although small claims is quick and
inexpensive, if an association (as plaintiff) loses, it cannot appeal the
decision.
Code Civ. Proc. 116.710. Unfortunately, it does not matter that Commissioner
Munisoglu misinterpreted the law, you are stuck with her erroneous decision.
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