Litigation

Our philosophy is that litigation is generally a lose-lose for the both the Association and the Owner, and often for the firm. Over time we have found that even when completely successful; the division the litigation causes within the Board and community, the months and years cases take to move through the court system, and the expense of the case unduly strains the relationship with our client.

However for intransigent or unreasonable homeowners, the Association often has little choice but to aggressively pursue covenant enforcement in the court system. The Association may also find itself named as a defendant in covenant enforcement cases, or in personal injury, fair housing, or discrimination cases. In such cases our experienced attorneys will meet with the board to set out the goals of the litigation and help the Board to manage the time and expense of the litigation as well as help with communication to the community regarding the litigation. In cases when the Association is a defendant we will assist the board in tendering the claim to its insurer and advise the Association throughout the litigation.

The Association is often named in a frivolous claim brought by a homeowner as a strategy to try and force settlement in an assessment collection case. This is called a counter-claim. In such cases the firm will evaluate the merits of the case, if any, and make a recommendation to the board regarding tender of the claim to the insurer. In many cases the firm can defend the counter-claim for the same or less than the Association’s deductible.